Happy-Productive Teams and Work Units: A Systematic Review of the ‘Happy-Productive Worker Thesis’

Abstract

The happy-productive worker thesis (HPWT) assumes that happy employees perform better. Given the relevance of teams and work-units in organizations, our aim is to analyze the state of the art on happy-productive work-units (HPWU) through a systematic review and integrate existing research on different collective well-being constructs and collective performance. Research on HPWU (30 studies, 2001–2018) has developed through different constructs of well-being (hedonic: team satisfaction, group affect; and eudaimonic: team engagement) and diverse operationalizations of performance (self-rated team performance, leader-rated team performance, customers’ satisfaction, and objective indicators), thus creating a disintegrated body of knowledge about HPWU. The theoretical frameworks to explain the HPWU relationship are attitude–behavior models, broaden-and-build theory, and the job-demands-resources model. Research models include a variety of antecedents, mediators, and moderating third variables. Most studies are cross-sectional, all propose a causal happy–productive relationship (not the reverse), and generally find positive significant relationships. Scarce but interesting time-lagged evidence supports a causal chain in which collective well-being leads to team performance (organizational citizenship behavior or team creativity), which then leads to objective work-unit performance. To conclude, we identify common issues and challenges across the studies on HPWU, and set out an agenda for future research.

Effects of a Job Crafting Intervention Program on Work Engagement Among Japanese Employees: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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Work-Family Conflict Impact on Psychological Safety and Psychological Well-Being: A Job Performance Model

“…Job Demands-Resources theory, demands-control model, the person-environment fit approach and COR theory are influential job-related stress theories that have had a prominent impact on the field of work and well-being related psychology (Bakker and Demerouti, 2007. JD-R theory investigates the impact of working conditions on employees and the impact employees have on the working conditions.…”

Lean on Me: A Scoping Review of the Essence of Workplace Support Among Child Welfare Workers

“…The job-demand resource (JD-R) model provides a more nuanced explanation to what goes on at work. Building on previous balance models of employee wellbeing [the demand-control model (DCM) by Karasek, 1979; and the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) by Siegrist, 1996], the proponents of the JD-R hold that the exposure of employees to a high demanding work environment coupled with limited autonomy will oftentimes lead to stress and ill health (Bakker and Demerouti, 2007). Furthermore, elevated autonomy will yield a contrasting experience for the employees.…”

“…Furthermore, elevated autonomy will yield a contrasting experience for the employees. The central tenet of this model revolves around two assumed pathways, namely, the health impairment and the motivation processes (Bakker and Demerouti, 2007;Schaufeli and Taris, 2014). The impairment pathway (also referred to as job demands) involves "those physical, social, organizational aspects of the job that require sustained physical or mental effort and are therefore associated with certain physiological and psychological costs" (Demerouti et al, 2001, p. 501).…”