The Determinant Analysis of Happiness at Work (HAW): A Systematic Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61194/ijss.v6i2.1702Keywords:
Happiness, Work, Workplace, Wellbeing, Literature ReviewAbstract
This study aims to enhance the understanding of happiness at work (HAW) by examining its dimensions and characteristics. Furthermore, it investigates the generation of knowledge concerning HAW through various theoretical frameworks, contextual elements, and methodological approaches. The study also identifies potential future avenues for HAW research. This paper undertakes a systematic literature review of 42 selected empirical articles published from 2010 to 2024, providing an in-depth exploration of HAW. It evaluates trends in publication, dimensions, characteristics, theoretical frameworks, contextual influences, and the research methodologies applied in HAW studies. The results indicate that while research on HAW has gained considerable traction, a significant need remains for further exploration, especially in developing countries. The study identifies several theoretical frameworks, including the job demand-resources model, social exchange theory, and broaden-and-build theory. It also recommends the incorporation of less frequently utilized theories, such as the positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment (PERMA) model, alongside flow theory, for future research initiatives. This review enriches the literature on workplace happiness by providing a thorough analysis and offers valuable insights to inform future research into the factors affecting employee well-being.References
Atkinson, C., & Hall, L. (2011). Flexible working and happiness in the NHS. Employee Relations, 33(2), 88–105. https://doi.org/10.1108/01425451111096659
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2007). The Job Demands‐Resources model: state of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309–328. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940710733115
Bakker, A. B., & Oerlemans, W. G. M. (2016). Momentary Work Happiness as a Function of Enduring Burnout and Work Engagement. The Journal of Psychology, 150(6), 755–778. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2016.1182888
Bangun, Y. R., Pritasari, A., Widjaja, F. B., Wirawan, C., Wisesa, A., & Ginting, H. (2021). Role of Happiness: Mediating Digital Technology and Job Performance Among Lecturers. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.593155
Bani-Melhem, S., Zeffane, R., & Albaity, M. (2018). Determinants of employees’ innovative behavior. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(3), 1601–1620. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-02-2017-0079
Basinska, B. A., & Rozkwitalska, M. (2022). Psychological capital and happiness at work: The mediating role of employee thriving in multinational corporations. Current Psychology, 41(2), 549–562. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00598-y
Bassi, M., Bacher, G., Negri, L., & Delle Fave, A. (2013). The Contribution of Job Happiness and Job Meaning to the Well-Being of Workers from Thriving and Failing Companies. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 8(4), 427–448. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-012-9202-x
Bednárová-Gibová, K. (2021). Organizational ergonomics of translation as a powerful predictor of translators’ happiness at work? Perspectives, 29(3), 391–406. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2020.1753788
Benevene, P., De Stasio, S., Fiorilli, C., Buonomo, I., Ragni, B., Briegas, J. J. M., & Barni, D. (2019). Effect of Teachers’ Happiness on Teachers’ Health. The Mediating Role of Happiness at Work. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02449
Berdicchia, D., Fortezza, F., & Masino, G. (2023). The key to happiness in collaborative workplaces. Evidence from coworking spaces. Review of Managerial Science, 17(4), 1213–1242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-022-00558-0
Bhawna, Sharma, S. K., & Gautam, P. K. (2024). The influence of subordinates’ proactive personality, supervisors’ I-deals on subordinates’ affective commitment and occupational well-being: mediating role of subordinates’ I-deals. Journal of Work-Applied Management, 16(1), 48–64. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWAM-04-2023-0030
Bibi, S., Khan, A., Hayat, H., Panniello, U., Alam, M., & Farid, T. (2022). Do hotel employees care for corporate social responsibility (CSR): a happiness approach to employee innovativeness. Current Issues in Tourism, 25(4), 541–558. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2021.1889482
Chen, B., Ren, G., & Liu, Y. (2022). Assessing the determinants of teachers’ job happiness in the private universities. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1018517
Diener, E., Tay, L., & Myers, D. G. (2011). The religion paradox: If religion makes people happy, why are so many dropping out? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(6), 1278–1290. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024402
Field, L. K., & Buitendach, J. H. (2011). Happiness, work engagement and organisational commitment of support staff at a tertiary education institution in South Africa. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 37(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v37i1.946
Fisher, C. D. (2010). Happiness at Work. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(4), 384–412. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2009.00270.x
Fitriana, N., Hutagalung, F. D., Awang, Z., & Zaid, S. M. (2022). Happiness at work: A cross-cultural validation of happiness at work scale. PLoS ONE, 17(1 January). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261617
Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The broaden–and–build theory of positive emotions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 359(1449), 1367–1377. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2004.1512
Frinaldi, A. (2021). Work Culture, Digital Governance and Employees Happiness in Pariaman City. Proceedings of the 1st Tidar International Conference on Advancing Local Wisdom Towards Global Megatrends, TIC 2020, 21-22 October 2020, Magelang, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia. https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.21-10-2020.2311469
Garg, N., Mahipalan, M., Poulose, S., & Burgess, J. (2022). Does Gratitude Ensure Workplace Happiness Among University Teachers? Examining the Role of Social and Psychological Capital and Spiritual Climate. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.849412
Grawitch, M. J., Gottschalk, M., & Munz, D. C. (2006). The path to a healthy workplace: A critical review linking healthy workplace practices, employee well-being, and organizational improvements. In Consulting Psychology Journal (Vol. 58, Issue 3, pp. 129–147). American Psychological Association Inc. https://doi.org/10.1037/1065-9293.58.3.129
Gulyani, G., & Sharma, T. (2018). Total rewards components and work happiness in new ventures. Evidence-Based HRM: A Global Forum for Empirical Scholarship, 6(3), 255–271. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-12-2017-0063
Hidayat, D. (2020). Happiness and Its Effect on Performance For Non-Academic Staff in Organizational Restructurisation. Proceedings of the Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Religion and Mental Health, ICRMH 2019, 18 - 19 September 2019, Jakarta, Indonesia. https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.18-9-2019.2293320
Hills, P., & Argyle, M. (2002). The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire: a compact scale for measuring psychological well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 33(7), 1073–1082. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(01)00213-6
Homans, G. C. (1958). Social Behavior as Exchange. American Journal of Sociology, 63(6), 597–606. https://doi.org/10.1086/222355
Hosie, P., Willemyns, M., & Sevastos, P. (2012). The impact of happiness on managers’ contextual and task performance. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 50(3), 268–287. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7941.2012.00029.x
Jaswal, N., Sharma, D., Bhardwaj, B., & Kraus, S. (2024). Promoting well-being through happiness at work: a systematic literature review and future research agenda. In Management Decision (Vol. 62, Issue 13, pp. 332–369). Emerald Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-08-2023-1492
Jensen, S. M., & Luthans, F. (2006). Relationship between Entrepreneurs’ Psychological Capital and Their Authentic Leadership. In Source: Journal of Managerial Issues (Vol. 18, Issue 2). https://www.jstor.org/stable/40604537
Joo, B.-K., & Lee, I. (2017). Workplace happiness: work engagement, career satisfaction, and subjective well-being. Evidence-Based HRM: A Global Forum for Empirical Scholarship, 5(2), 206–221. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-04-2015-0011
Kim, K.-S. (2019). The Influence of Hotels High-Commitment HRM on Job Engagement of Employees: Mediating Effects of Workplace Happiness and Mental Health. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 14(2), 507–525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-018-9626-z
Kleine, A., Rudolph, C. W., & Zacher, H. (2019). Thriving at work: A meta‐analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(9–10), 973–999. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2375
Kocollari, U., Cavicchioli, M., & Demaria, F. (2024). The 5 E(lements) of employee‐centric corporate social responsibility and their stimulus on happiness at work: An empirical investigation. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 31(3), 1959–1976. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2667
Kraus, S., Breier, M., & Dasí-Rodríguez, S. (2020). The art of crafting a systematic literature review in entrepreneurship research. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 16(3), 1023–1042. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-020-00635-4
Kun, A., & Gadanecz, P. (2022). Workplace happiness, well-being and their relationship with psychological capital: A study of Hungarian Teachers. Current Psychology, 41(1), 185–199. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00550-0
Lim, W. M., Rasul, T., Kumar, S., & Ala, M. (2022). Past, present, and future of customer engagement. Journal of Business Research, 140, 439–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.11.014
Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success? Psychological Bulletin, 131(6), 803–855. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803
MacKinnon, D. P. (2011). Integrating Mediators and Moderators in Research Design. Research on Social Work Practice, 21(6), 675–681. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731511414148
Mousa, M., Massoud, H. K., & Ayoubi, R. M. (2020). Gender, diversity management perceptions, workplace happiness and organisational citizenship behaviour. Employee Relations: The International Journal, 42(6), 1249–1269. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-10-2019-0385
Naudé, R., Kruger, S., Saayman, M., Jonker, C., & Uysal, M. (2016). Black Jack: Do company benefits and feelings impact my happiness? Journal of Psychology in Africa, 26(4), 334–342. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2016.1185898
Palihakkara, N., & Weerakkody, W. A. S. (2019). The Impact of Employee Happiness on Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Study of Executive Level Employees in Selected Mobile Telecommunication Companies. Kelaniya Journal of Management, 8(1), 57–70. https://doi.org/10.4038/kjm.v8i1.7549
Paul, J., & Rosado-Serrano, A. (2019). Gradual Internationalization vs Born-Global/International new venture models. International Marketing Review, 36(6), 830–858. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-10-2018-0280
Qaiser, S., Abid, G., Arya, B., & Farooqi, S. (2020). Nourishing the bliss: antecedents and mechanism of happiness at work. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 31(15–16), 1669–1683. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2018.1493919
Qamar, F., Soomro, S. A., & Kundi, Y. M. (2023). Linking high-performance work systems and happiness at work: role of career aspiration and thriving. Career Development International, 28(5), 536–553. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-02-2023-0047
R. Santiago Antony Selvi, & Vandana Madhavkumar. (2023). THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF HAPPINESS AT WORKPLACE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HYBRID WORK MODEL AND EMPLOYEE RETENTION IN IT INDUSTRY. International Journal of Industrial Management, 17(1), 40–49. https://doi.org/10.15282/ijim.17.1.2023.9212
Rabenu, E., Yaniv, E., & Elizur, D. (2017). The Relationship between Psychological Capital, Coping with Stress, Well-Being, and Performance. Current Psychology, 36(4), 875–887. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-016-9477-4
Rego, A., Ribeiro, N., & Cunha, M. P. (2010). Perceptions of Organizational Virtuousness and Happiness as Predictors of Organizational Citizenship Behaviors. Journal of Business Ethics, 93(2), 215–235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0197-7
Reina-Usuga, L., Parra-López, C., Sánchez-Zamora, P., & Carmona-Torres, C. (2023). Towards socio-digital rural territories to drive digital transformation: General conceptualisation and application to the olive areas of Andalusia, Spain. Geoforum, 145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2023.103827
Roy, R., & Alassadi, D. (2021). Does labelling of healthy foods on menus using symbols promote better choices at the point-of-purchase? Public Health Nutrition, 24(4), 746–754. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980020002840
Salas-Vallina, A., & Alegre, J. (2018). Unselfish leaders? Understanding the role of altruistic leadership and organizational learning on happiness at work (HAW). Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 39(5), 633–649. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-11-2017-0345
Salas-Vallina, A., & Alegre, J. (2021). Happiness at work: Developing a shorter measure. Journal of Management & Organization, 27(3), 460–480. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2018.24
Salas-Vallina, A., Alegre, J., & Fernandez, R. (2017). Happiness at work and organisational citizenship behaviour. International Journal of Manpower, 38(3), 470–488. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-10-2015-0163
Salas-Vallina, A., Simone, C., & Fernández-Guerrero, R. (2020). The human side of leadership: Inspirational leadership effects on follower characteristics and happiness at work (HAW). Journal of Business Research, 107, 162–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.10.044
Salas-Vallina, L�opez-Cabrales, & Alegre, J. (2017). On the road to happiness at work (HAW): transformational leadership and organizational learning capability as drivers of HAW. Personnel Review.
Sauer, P. C., & Seuring, S. (2023). How to conduct systematic literature reviews in management research: a guide in 6 steps and 14 decisions. Review of Managerial Science, 17(5), 1899–1933. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-023-00668-3
Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.5
Sloan, M. M. (2012). Controlling Anger and Happiness at Work: An Examination of Gender Differences. Gender, Work and Organization, 19(4), 370–391. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0432.2010.00518.x
Tadić, M., Bakker, A. B., & Oerlemans, W. G. M. (2013). Work happiness among teachers: A day reconstruction study on the role of self-concordance. Journal of School Psychology, 51(6), 735–750. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2013.07.002
Tandler, N., Krauss, A., & Proyer, R. T. (2020). Authentic Happiness at Work: Self- and Peer-Rated Orientations to Happiness, Work Satisfaction, and Stress Coping. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01931
Thompson, A., & Bruk-Lee, V. (2021). Employee Happiness: Why We Should Care. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 16(4), 1419–1437. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-019-09807-z
Wang, H., Lu, C., & Siu, O. (2015). Job insecurity and job performance: The moderating role of organizational justice and the mediating role of work engagement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(4), 1249–1258. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038330
Williams, P., Kern, M. L., & Waters, L. (2017). The Role and Reprocessing of Attitudes in Fostering Employee Work Happiness: An Intervention Study. Frontiers in Psychology, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00028
Youssef, C. M., & Luthans, F. (2007). Positive Organizational Behavior in the Workplace. Journal of Management, 33(5), 774–800. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206307305562
Zhang, W. (2016). Relationship Between Organizational Culture Identity and Job Performance of Enterprise Employees. Destech Transactions on Social Science Education and Human Science, icaem. https://doi.org/10.12783/dtssehs/icaem2016/4341



