Employee Benefits Supporting Well-Being at the Intersection of Meaning and Cost: A Sustainability Perspective from Generation Z

İlhan, Ümit DenizÖzkılınç, Damla Nurcan2026-04-072026-04-0720262071-105010.3390/su180316922-s2.0-105030038062https://hdl.handle.net/123456789/14172https://doi.org/10.3390/su18031692This study examines how employee benefit practices link employee well-being with financial sustainability in sustainable organization management. Focusing on Generation Z, it investigates the intersection between meaning attributed to employee benefits and managerial decision-making guided by financial rationality. Drawing on human resources management (HRM) and finance perspectives, employee benefits are conceptualized as mechanisms for balancing human-centered value creation and economic resilience. A qualitative design was used, based on semi-structured interviews with 15 Generation Z employees and 20 human resources (HR) and finance managers in Türkiye. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis and the Gioia methodology to develop an inductive, multi-level framework. The findings indicate that Generation Z employees view employee benefits as psychosocial resources reflecting justice, autonomy, psychological safety, and value alignment-core components of subjective and eudaimonic well-being-while managers assess them primarily through financial sustainability logics such as cost control and return on investment. Overall, meaning- and cost-oriented perspectives emerge as mutually reinforcing within sustainable organizational systems. The study proposes the Meaning-Cost Balance (MCB) Framework, conceptualizing employee benefits as a strategic management mechanism aligning employee well-being with financial resilience. Positioned at the intersection of HRM and financial sustainability, the framework contributes to sustainable organization management and offers a transferable basis for future comparative research.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessQuality of Life (QoL)Employee Well-BeingQuality of Work Life (QoWL)Sustainable Organization ManagementEmployee BenefitsOrganizational BehaviorFinancial SustainabilityStrategic ManagementHuman Resources Management (HRM)Employee Benefits Supporting Well-Being at the Intersection of Meaning and Cost: A Sustainability Perspective from Generation ZArticle