Introduction

Human resources are widely acknowledged as the most significant of the resources required for the creation of products and services, as well as the key to quick socioeconomic development and effective service delivery. In other words, if human resources are underutilized, goods and services will never be available. If human resources are not present, other factors of production are rendered useless and ineffective. This emphasizes the importance of human capital. Researchers in the twenty-first century have identified "sustainability as a critical issue for business and the global community" (Anderson 2014).

Sustainability" means different things to different individuals, but in essence it means "fulfilling people's needs today without jeopardizing future generations' ability to meet their own needs" (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 2005). Sustainability has been characterized as "a Company's capacity to fulfil its business goals and increase long-term shareholder value by incorporating economic, environmental, and social potential into its business plans" from a business perspective (Hammond, 2012).

Human capital is an important aspect in the production of goods and services, so when it is given its proper place, various aspects of people management, such as a pleasant working environment, safety, health, and diversity, among others, can be used as a criterion to determine if a company is following a sustainable business model.  

In the light of the above, the following hypotheses stated in their null form have been formulated for testing:

 There is no significant relationship between human resource management and sustainable development.

i.              The company does not explicitly emphasized in the social, environmental aspect of sustainability.

ii.            Human resource manager and function does not play any sustainability in our company

Review of Related Literature Human Resource Management

Human resource management is concerned with finding the best possible employees for a company and then caring for them so that they will want to stay and do their tasks to the best of their abilities (Cuming 2018). This means that finding the proper personnel through the recruitment process to satisfy the organization's needs isn't enough. It is necessary to establish conditions that will encourage people to stay on the job, be happy on the job, and cope with the responsibilities of the job.

Human resource management, according to Mathis and Jackson (1997) in Onah, is the establishment of formal procedures in an organization to assure the effective and efficient use of human abilities to achieve organizational goals. Human resource management, according to Griffin (1997), is a set of organizational actions aimed at attracting, developing, and sustaining an effective workforce.

Sustainability

The word "sustainable" conjures up a plethora of images in the minds of academics, business leaders, and others. It focuses primarily on resource depletion; however, others argue that sustainability also includes irreversible pollution, environmental conservation, and other environmental and ecological issues. Aspects of human life and human well-being are among them.

From so many definitions given above, though might differ in scope, it is now widely accepted that sustainability comprises of three elements as

            Use human beings 

             The environment, the ecosystem in which we live 

            The economy, which enables us to do what we do 

To attain sustainability, the overall value of actual human, environmental, and economic wellbeing must at least be constant. As a result, trade-offs between the three are tolerated as long as the entire amount remains stable. In contrast to strong sustainability, this strategy is known as weak sustainability. Only when all three elements have reached the degree of sustainability can sustainability be accomplished. Not all three aspects of personal and environmental wellbeing can be accomplished. Economic well-being is a means of achieving and maintaining long-term sustainability.

The sustainable society is a creature that lives within the environment's self-perpetuating boundaries. That civilization is not one of "no growth." Rather, it is a civilization that understands the limits of expansion and seeks out new methods to expand. (2016, Silly). Development that is expected to meet long-term human requirements and increase the quality of life is known as sustainable development (Allen, 2014)

The Importance of Sustainable Human Resource Management

The necessity of managing people and the concept of sustainability can both be considered when considering sustainability in human resource management methods. Human capital has been acknowledged as a vital component of corporate performance. A large number of studies on human resource management and organizational performance or development have been conducted. The competencies and knowledge contained in an organization's human resources, according to Brewster (2012), are critical to success. Highly qualified employees, on the other hand, appear to be dealing with more work-related stress, work-life conflict, health issues, new employment relationships, or a lack of employability.

The lens of sustainability has been chosen to examine the implications of these developments on human resource management. Recruitment and retention of top people, development of vital competencies, motivation, rewards for exceptional performance, employability, lifelong learning, demographic trends, aging workforces, employee health, safety, and quality of life are all possible subjects. (According to Boudreau and Ramstad (2015), sustainability is not an afterthought. Shell, British Petroleum (BP), the United Nations (UN), and the International Labour Organization (ILO) are all committed to long-term human resource management.

According to research, effective employee involvement is required to successfully incorporate the economic, environmental, and social obligations of sustainability into every business operation (Psilou, 2011). Finding the impulses that push individuals to be more devoted to a company, their supervisor, and the team as a whole is the difficulty. When aiming to have a corporation perform responsibly in all three sustainability dimensions: environmental, social, and economic, sustainability specialists must ensure employee engagement (Pojasek, 2010).

Approaches to Sustainable Human Resource Management

"Those long-term oriented conceptual approaches and activities aiming at a socially responsible and economically adequate recruiting and selection, development, deployment, and release of personnel," according to a sustainable human resource management scheme. Individuals and companies are viewed as equal participants in their sustainable human resources management strategy (Mosev & Saxer, 2014). The creation, development, and preservation of future-oriented abilities that contribute to the firm's increased value, individual employee employability, and consideration of societal values are at the heart of sustainable resource management. Participatory flexibility, value added-oriented, challenging grouporiented, and strategically competence-oriented human resource management are all required for long-term success.

In Weve, (2013) highlighted three key pillars in the management of people with reference to sustainability: work-life balance, personal autonomy in professional development, and worker employability. If these three pillars are included as fundamental objectives in a model of sustainable human resource management, the author believes that they will improve selfawareness and identification, develop abilities and potential, and increase human capital in a business. They also discovered the preferences of present employers. As a result, having sustainable resource management methods has three effects: a long-term supply of talented and motivated employees for businesses, a prolonged competitive edge, and economic value generated.

Methodology

The survey method was used in this investigation. According to the researchers, this research method was superior because it attempted to determine the relationship between existing variables, human resources, and long-term development. Using spearman's rank correlation coefficient, the study's population consisted of 223 human resources managers or senior management employees from ninety (90) successful registered companies in Nigeria. to significance test using student t-test.

Spearman’s rank (r) = 1 - 6£d²

                                    M(n² – 1) 

Table 1 Variable and their possible measuring instrument

Data Presentation, Analysis and Finding Hypothesis One

HO: There is no positive significant relationship between human resource management and sustainable development 

Table 2: Collected Data for Test of Hypothesis One   Question 1 2 3 Total 4 5 6 7 Total table (1-3) (5-7)

1                    4.1.1 13        18        30        61        0          42        54        66        162

2                    4.1.2 11        20        25        56        34        38        49        46        133

3                    4.1.3 18        22        30        71        13        37        49        53        139

4                    4.1.4 8          15        12        35        76        41        36        35        112

5                    4.1.5 13        34        20        67        8          58        51        39        148

6                    4.1.6 9          19        15        43        42        47        51        40        138

7                    4.1.7 13        19        30        62        4          59        48        50        157

8                    4.1.8 10        16        25        51        81        19        39        33        91

9                    4.1.9 9          16        28        53        -           42        50        24        116

10                4.1.10            8          12        19        39        95        31        35        23        89

                    Y                   X                   Rank Y        Rank X         D                   D²

1                                 61            162      7          10        -3         9

2                                 56            133      6          5          1          1

3                                 71            139      10        7          3          9

4                                 35            112      1          3          -2         4

5                                 67            148      9          9          0          0

6                                 43            138      3          6          -3         9

7                                 62            142      8          8          0          0

8                                 51            91        4          2          2          4

9                                 53            116      5          4          1          1

10                             39            89        2          1          1          1

Total                                                                                                                          38

Source: Computed from the responses of the human resources managers

rs = 1 - 6£d²

                            n(n²-1)

rs = 1 – 6(38)

                            n(10²-1)

rs = 1 – 228

                            990

rs = 1 – 0.220 rs = 0.770

t =   r √n – 2

           1 – r²

t = 0.770 √10 – 2

                                  1 – 0.770²

t =  0770 √8

                                  1 – 0.593

T = 0.770 √  8                   0.407

T = 0.770 √19.66

T = 0.770 x 4.434

= 3.415

Therefore, t_c = 3.415 Df = n – 2

Df = 10 – 2 = 8 T_t = 2.326

Interpreting the Spearman Rank correlation coefficient and student t-test for hypothesis one. In the test of hypothesis one, the result exposed that human resource management was positively related to sustainable development. The correlation coefficient of 0.770 was a far positive correlation (0.5 ≤ r ≤ 0.8). Obviously human resource management were directly related to sustainable development at 8 degree of freedom and 0.05 level of significance, the t-table value  (t_t = 2.306) was compared with the obtained values of t calculated (t_c = 3.415). Thus the obtained valued reviewed that t_c> t_t, the researchers hereby reject null hypothesis and accept alternative hypothesis indicating that the degree or strength of the relationship or association between human resources management and sustainable development was positively and significantly related.

Hypothesis Two

Ho: The Company does not explicitly emphasized in the social environmental aspect of sustainability

Table 2: Collected data for Test of Hypothesis Two  

Y X           Rank Y        Rank X                  D                  D²

1                                 50         123      7          4          3          9

2                                 14         128      1          5          4          16

3                                 21         116      3          3          0          0

4                                 71         140      10        9          1          1

5                                 59         108      8          1.5       6.5       42.25

6                                 63         146      9          10        -1         1

7                                 19         108      2          1.5       0.5       0.25

8                                 46         137      6          8          -2         4

9                                 32         130      4          6          -2         4

10                             39         134      5          7          -2         4

Total                                                                      81.5

Source: Computed from the responses of the human resources managers

rs = 1 - 6£d²         n(n²-1)

rs = 1 – 6(81.5)    n(10²-1)

rs = 1 – 489

               990

rs = 1 – 0.4949

rs = 0.506

t =   r √n – 2

           1 – r²

t = 0.506 √10 – 2                   1 – 0.506²

t =  0.506 √     8

                     1 – 0.256

T = 0.506 √  8

                     0.744

T = 0.506 √10.753

T = 0.506 x 3.279

= 1.659

Therefore,  t_c = 1.659 df = n – 2 df = 10 – 2 = 8 t_t = 2.306