High-Commitment Human Resource Management and Care Workers’ Attitudes and Performance Through a Sustainable-Careers Lens: A Multilevel Analysis in Japan

In aging societies, securing a stable long-term care workforce is a priority, yet workforce policies centered on financial incentives have demonstrated limited effectiveness. Drawing on the sustainable-careers perspective as an analytical lens, this study re-examines high-commitment human resource management (HCHRM), grounded in ability–motivation–opportunity (AMO) theory, by investigating how it relates to the work attitudes and work role performance of long-term care workers, with work–life balance (WLB) support incorporated as an opportunity-enhancing practice. Data of 875 full-time care workers from 130 establishments in Japan were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Opportunity-enhancing practices (WLB support and autonomous team management) were positively associated with affective commitment, and coworker exchange (CWX) was favorably associated with all outcomes. Cross-level analyses indicated that higher WLB support was associated with a stronger relationship between CWX and both lower turnover intention and greater proficiency behavior, whereas higher autonomous team management was associated with a stronger CWX–adaptive-proactive behavior relationship. Interpreted through a sustainable-careers lens, these findings position WLB support as an opportunity-enhancing practice within AMO theory and indicate that it may operate synergistically with workplace relationships to support care workers’ attitudes and performance.