This study investigates the impact of Green Recruitment and Selection (GRS) on Employee Retention (ER) by examining the mediating role of Green Work Engagement (GWE) within the Bangladeshi Ready-Made Garments (RMG) sector. Although Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) is increasingly emphasized in sustainability-oriented industries, limited empirical work has explored the psychological mechanisms linking green hiring practices to long-term retention outcomes. Grounded in Social Exchange Theory and the Ability–Motivation– Opportunity framework, this study adopts a quantitative research design and analyzes survey data from 178 garment-industry employees using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4.0. The findings reveal that GRS positively influences both GWE (β = 0.380, p < 0.001) and ER (β = 0.416, p = 0.001), while GWE significantly predicts ER (β = 0.563, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis further confirms that GWE partially mediates the GRS–ER relationship (β = 0.214, p = 0.003). These results highlight the strategic value of embedding environmental sustainability in recruitment practices, which cultivates a more engaged and loyal workforce. The study contributes to GHRM scholarship by identifying a key psychological pathway through which green hiring enhances retention, offering theoretical and practical insights for advancing sustainabilitydriven HRM in emerging economies.
Sultana et al. (Sun,) studied this question.