GENERATION Z, HR POLICY ADAPTABILITY, AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE ORGANIZATIONS IN INDIAN CORPORATES

The increasing number of workers in the Indian labour force that are classified under the Gen Z has presented strategic and structural difficulties to companies that are geared towards making sure growth and innovation take place in a sustainable way. The present paper is anchored on the Social Exchange Theory (SET), the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and the Person-Organization (P-O) Fit Theory to determine the impact of the attributes of Gen Z workforce on the effectiveness of human resource (HR) policies and the outcomes of employee engagement in the Indian corporate spectrum. Based on the secondary survey data gathered via crawler of IT and FMCG firms in India and then global comparison, this study incorporates Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test the hypothesized relationship between HR policy dimension, employee engagement and HR outcomes. The findings show that flexible work practices, ongoing feedback mechanisms, and HR policies that are developmentally oriented play a key role in improving the levels of engagement in Gen Z employees. The relationship between HR policies and retention outcomes and productivity outcomes is found to have a partial mediation role that of employee engagement. In addition to immediate HR performance indicators, the results indicate that the adaptability of HR policies adjusted to the trends of Gen Z promotes innovation preparedness, intrapreneurial orientation, and long-term organizational sustainability in the circumstances of the emerging economy. The study has a contribution role to the literature of the generational workforce and HRM by offering empirical evidence of India as an emerging Asian economy and presents practical implications of the research to organizations that have to design future-oriented, innovation-driven and sustainable workplaces in the multi-generational workforce. The proposal would appear as follows. Gen Z Workforce Characteristics ↓ HR Policy Dimensions (Flexibility, Feedback, & Purpose) ↓ Employee Engagement (Energy, Value driven, Exceed output) ↓ HR Outcomes (Retention & Productivity)