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The post-COVID-19 era is characterised in the professional field by a deterioration in the psychological health of employees and by “The Great Resignation”. These phenomena require managers to rethink both organisational and HR strategies to protect their workers’ health, to retain them in their job and, in fine, to ensure the sustainability of the organisation. However, studies have demonstrated that high performance work systems (HPWS), which are currently the dominant approach in human resource management, are related to an intensification of work and consequently a deterioration of employees’ health (conflicting outcomes perspective). At the same time, workers’ well-being has been shown to be associated with numerous organisational outcomes, such as individual performance. However, relatively few articles have investigated win–win organisational practices or programmes that promote the well-being and consequently performance of workers. These include virtuous organisational practices (VOPs), which specifically aim to enhance employees’ well-being, considered not as a means to an end, but as an end in itself (mutual gains perspective). This paper aims to develop the general hypothesis that VOPs could increase employees’ performance by protecting their health and thus offer an alternative to HPWS.

We review relevant current research on psychological well-being and work performance and present innovative systems of organisational practices such as VOPs that create psychologically healthy workplaces and enhance workers’ optimal functioning (well-being and performance).

Based on theoretical arguments and empirical studies, we hypothesise that alternative practices such as VOPs can increase employees’ performance while protecting their health and encouraging them to stay in the organisation.

After this review, we discuss future avenues for research to encourage the scientific community to test this hypothesis.

Finally, we make a number of specific recommendations about how to (1) appraise, design and implement VOPs, (2) enhance organisational communication and managerial adherence to VOPs, and (3) train managers in R.I.G.H.T leadership behaviours.

Presentation of an original approach in this research field: the VOPs.

This study aims to examine the indirect effects of workaholism on life satisfaction (Samples 1 and 2) and work performance (Sample 2) as mediated by presenteeism. This study also examined whether these indirect effects differed at various levels of work−home segmentation.

The authors collected data from two samples of employees with jobs in administration (Sample 1) and engineering (Sample 2).

The results showed that workaholism was associated with higher levels of presenteeism, whereas work−home segmentation was negatively related to presenteeism. Presenteeism was also negatively related to life satisfaction (Samples 1 and 2) and work performance (Sample 2). Furthermore, the positive effects of workaholism on presenteeism were stronger at low levels of work−home segmentation. Finally, the indirect effects of workaholism on life satisfaction (Samples 1 and 2) and work performance (Sample 1) were significantly mediated by presenteeism at low levels of work−home segmentation, but not at high levels of work−home segmentation.

This research demonstrates that work−home segmentation buffers the detrimental effects of workaholism.