Factors That Influence Happiness In The Workplace

According to Wesarat, Sharif & Abdul Majid, there are four main factors that influence happiness at the workplace. They are: employment status, income, friendship, and work activities. If they are all positive, these factors can influence happiness and performance at the workplace in the right way. Employment status is an important aspect concerning happiness at work because many factors can influence it in different ways. For example, full time employment contributes to an employee’s happiness positively, while part time employees have lower work satisfaction (Berger, 2009). However, voluntary part time employees, who choose not to work full time, are happier than full time employees. Self employed people seem to also be more satisfied with work because they work for themselves and do not have managers to report to (Benz & Frey, 2008). In general, employees seek employment security. Unstable employment can make employees feel less happy in general and it can affect the rate of employee turnover and organizational performance (Dike, 2011). Corporate restructuring that aims to reduce the workforce in order to improve organizational performance can make employees feel unsatisfied with their jobs and even feel threatened (Klehe, Zikic, Van Vianen & De Pater, 2011). Employees who perceive job insecurity have lower commitment to their firm and tend to leave their jobs for a more secure one. It has also been proven that unemployment brings unhappiness and is negatively related