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A Literature Review of Workplace Well-Being

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 Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 477
Proceedings of the International Conference on Community Development (ICCD 2020)

A Literature Review of Workplace Well-Being

Ratih Devi Aryanti* Erita Yuliasesti Diah Sari

Universitas Ahmad Dahlan Universitas Ahmad Dahlan
[email protected] [email protected]
Herlina Siwi Widiana
Universitas Ahmad Dahlan
[email protected]

Abstract. Workplace well-being plays an diseases with personality characteristics or type of

important role in the sustainability of work environment [5].
organizations and individuals within the Workplace well-being is an important issue that
organization. Organizations that have occupies the highest in organizational research [6].
implemented health programs at work reported Individual experience at work, whether emotional or
positive business results such as increased social, clearly influences the person at work and also
employee retention, productivity, and in the non-working domain. Workers spend about
psychological well-being among a variety of other one-third of the time at work and still carry the work
benefits. For individuals, workplace well-being even after leaving the workplace [7]. Welfare can
means a healthy and balanced life. The benefits of potentially affect workers and organizations in a
the mental health of the workforce are very clear. negative way. Workers with poor welfare may be
Mental health work is a place where risk factors less productive, make low-quality decisions, be
are recognized and dealt with, and protective more vulnerable to absenteeism at work, and
factors are nurtured and maximized. This article consistently reduce overall contributions to the
discusses workplace well-being, factors that organization [7].
affect workplace well-being, and the impact of Workplace well-being has contributed to the
workplace well-being. This literature review was emergence of the attachment of workers [4]. Well-
conducted based on 18 journals on workplace being also contributes positively and significantly to
well-being. The result shows workplace well- the emergence of personality characteristics of a
being is one of the important elements in an person which is reflected in psychological capital
organization. The existence of workplace well- namely hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism
being will foster individuals in the organization to [4]. This is in line with previous research which
be "healthy" and have high productivity that in stated that employees with well-being will look
turn will benefit the organization. happier, have a physical, mental, and healthy
behavior [8]. The low well-being of an employee can
Keywords: employee welfare, productivity, result in low productivity of the employee itself, a
workplace well-being decrease in the quality of decision making, and a
decrease in the contribution of the employee in his
INTRODUCTION organization [8].
As stated before, workplace well-being is an
The concept of workplace well-being is an important element in organizational sustainability.
application component of subjective well-being in a For instance, workplace well-being will contribute to
work environment. Workplace well-being that will the organizational commitment of workers as well as
have an impact on employee welfare is a key factor contribute to organizational performance [4].
to determine long-term sustainability in an Factors such as demographic characteristics,
organization [1]. Workplace well-being is an personality, organizational climate, and
obligation because improving workplace well-being organizational well-being, and subjective well-being
will have a positive impact on overall performance contribute to the welfare of employees in the
[2]. workplace [9]. Other studies prove that job demand
Workplace well-being is a sense of prosperity also contributes to workplace well-being [3], [10].
obtained from work that is related to the feelings of Besides, many studies said the importance of
workers in general (core affect) and the intrinsic and workplace well-being for organizations [3], [10].
extrinsic value of the work (work values) [3], [4]. The usefulness of the workplace well-being
Three main areas of research related to encourages researchers to review studies that focus
organizational life for worker health are: (1) the on the topic. In this article, the author reviews the
relationship of hazardous work arrangements with journals that have been obtained based on workplace
certain diseases and diseases; (2) work stress well-being journal searches keywords.
condition; and (3) the specific relationship of

Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.

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 Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 477

METHOD [11]. Company policies, salaries, interpersonal

relationships, working conditions, and superiors are
The author uses keywords "workplace well- the company's extrinsic factors. While the
being" in searching journals and scientific articles company's intrinsic factors include achievement,
through several sites, such as Google Scholar, awareness of the achievements, responsibilities, and
ScienceDirect, Garuda Portal, Elsevier, Springer, progress made. Extrinsic dimension is a dimension
and Digilib. In the initial stages, the authors found that refers to things outside the employee's work but
67 scientific journals in English and 8 in Indonesia. can affect employees in work which consists of eight
After examining the title, the authors eliminated 15 aspects as follows [4]:
English journals that did not fit the discussed theme. a. The best use of time
Furthermore, through the abstract search, the authors This aspect is defined as the feelings of
found 2 irrelevant Indonesian journals. Then, briefly employees in knowing their work time is
analyzed the contents of 15 English journals, 6 important because it forms the balance of
Indonesian journals, so that in the final stage the employees in dividing work time and personal
authors obtained 12 English journals and 6 life (work-life balance).
Indonesian journals that were suitable for literature b. Working Conditions
review. This aspect is defined as employee satisfaction
with the work environment such as working
spaces and organizational culture.
c. Supervision
This aspect is defined as the employee's
superior treatment, such as good treatment,
providing support and assistance when needed,
appropriate feedback, and appreciation from
superiors. Several studies have found that
employees who have a good relationship with
supervisors tend to have high welfare and low
stress.
d. Promotional opportunities
This aspect is defined as the condition of the
work environment that allows employees to
develop professionally.
e. Recognition of good performance
This aspect is defined as employees' feelings
that in their work environment, employees who
produce a good performance, and they get
equal treatment.
f. Appreciation as an individual at work.
This aspect has a definition as the employee's
Figure 1. Literature Review Method
feeling that they are valued and accepted as
individuals both by their colleagues and
RESULT & DISCUSSION
superiors.
g. Wages (pay).
There are four themes related to workplace well- This aspect is defined as employee satisfaction
being, namely the concept and definition of with wages, benefits, and rewards in the form
workplace well-being, things that affect workplace of money earned and the work environment.
well-being, the impact of workplace well-being, and h. Job security.
other models of workplace well-being being. This aspect is defined as satisfaction with
security in their work position.
The concept and definition of workplace well- Workplace well-being is an obligation, where
being many people believe that improving workplace well-
Workplace well-being is a sense of prosperity being will have a positive impact on overall
obtained from work that is related to the feelings of workplace performance [12]. Workplace well-being
workers in general (core affect) also the intrinsic and can shape one's mind toward maximizing work
extrinsic work values [11]. The core effect is defined performance and achieving self-potential [4].
as a condition in which a sense of comfort and The concept of workplace well-being is the
discomfort are mixed with the passion which affects application of subjective and psychological well-
human activities [3], [4]. Workplace well-being is being which builds the concept of employee mental
based on intrinsic and extrinsic values from work, health. Subjective well-being is a positive state of
referring to Henzberg's two motivational theories mind that involves all life experiences. Components

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of subjective well-being include life satisfaction, 1. Teacher performance

positive affection, and negative affection [2], [8]. Research conducted to determine the effect of
workplace well-being on teacher performance shows
Factors that influence workplace well-being the results. There is a significant effect between
Factors that influence workplace well-being workplace well-being on elementary teacher
include: performance [2]. The correlation coefficient of the
1. Organizational climate. Some of the factors that workplace well-being variable to teacher
contribute to a positive organizational climate are performance is -0,855, this means that the lower the
clarity of expectations, the appropriateness workplace well-being teacher, the lower the
between skills, knowledge, and job teacher's performance, and vice versa. This can
requirements, also alignment between prove that the impact of the workplace well-being is
organizational and employee values. With a individual performance [2].
positive organizational climate, individuals in 2. Psychological capital
the organization will also feel positive feelings so Well-being also contributes positively and
that it can bring up the workplace well-being [1], significantly to the emergence of a person's
[13], [14]. personality characteristics that is reflected in
2. The quality of leader-subordinate interaction. psychological capital namely hope, self-efficacy,
Leaders who are systematic and have emotional resilience, and optimism [4], [8], [14], [16].
stability have a role in the formation of good 3. Employee engagement.
quality interactions between subordinate The studies conducted by several previous
superiors. The good quality of subordinate boss researchers where each obtained results that
interactions ultimately increases employee workplace well-being, has contributed to the
psychological well-being in the workplace [13]. emergence of a person's positive attitude, namely the
3. Job demands. The results showed that the attachment of workers [4], [8], [14].
demands of work significantly influence the 4. Organizational culture
welfare of employees in the workplace [3], [10]. A workplace culture where leaders are optimistic
4. Other factors include personality factors, type of about the future, compassionate in their
work environment, and health and well-being communication and forgiving when needed, can help
concepts. Apart from interactions with develop a supportive leader-worker relationship and
personality traits and other factors, stress is also a supportive work community; relationships and
recognized as an important component and a community are social resources that can help
major problem that threaten the organization, and develop employee happiness at work [16].
employee health [6].
5. Independent variables such as Accountability Another Model of a Well-Being Workplace
(AC), Fair and Reasonable Policy (FRT), Other models of well-being at work [7] are:
Relationships with Senior Management (SM) are 1. Subjective well-being
believed to be effective in workplace well-being Subjective well-being is the overall person’s
[1]. life experience and reflects happiness. Subjective
Internal and external problems might result in the well-being includes positive attitudes assessment as
workplace. Internal problems include job stress, well as positive experiences and negative effects. An
oppression and harassment, conflicts, as well as loss, important component in subjective well-being is job
sadness, and trauma at work. External problems satisfaction, which is a positive emotion resulting
imported into the workplace such as mental health from job evaluation or individual work experience.
problems, used prohibited goods, family problems, Another important component in subject-being is
and the sense of loss, sadness, and trauma. organizational commitment and emotional
Furthermore, problems that can affect employee atmosphere. The function of positive emotions in the
well-being are joint problems such as forms of short term to broaden one's repertoire of thought-
discrimination and undesirable aspects of life [13]. actions and thereby build one's long-term cognitive,
The ecological approach accepts the holistic social, psychological, and physical resources.
concept whereby biological, psychological, Positive emotions reflect energy levels,
physical, and social culture influences well-being. excitement, enthusiasm, interests, appreciation,
The bio-ecological approach considers both the physical strength, and cognitive activeness, as well
physical and social environment important for the as engendering social interactions. While negative
creation of health: the physical aspects include emotions reflect ridiculous mood conditions such as
geography, architecture and technology, and the anger, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and fear.
social environment refers to the cultural, economic, 2. Eudaimonic Well-being
and political dynamics at work [15]. Some constructs in organizational behavior show
that some of the constructs can be matched with
Impact of workplace well-being eudaimonic wellbeing, including job involvement,
The impact of workplace well-being includes: work engagement, thriving, flow, intrinsic

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motivation, and meaning in work. Job involvement makes the psychological capital variable a predictor
consists of identifying closely with one's work, for employee engagement [8]. The results of both
identity, and self-esteem in one's work role [17]. studies together show that workplace well-being has
Work engagement is described as a state of mind contributed to the emergence of a person's positive
associated with positive work that is characterized attitude (employee engagement).
by enthusiasm, dedication, and absorption [18]. Whereas the differences found in the journals
Thriving is a feeling of vitality and a belief that collected are in terms of the placement of the
someone is learning, developing, and making workplace well-being variable. The differences
progress towards self-actualization [19]. Flow found related to this matter indicate that the
occurs when a person is truly absorbed in using skills workplace well-being does not only affect an aspect
to progress on a challenging task. Intrinsic or variable but is also influenced by aspects and
motivation is often measured as a subjective variables.
experience of interest or pleasure while engaging in
a task, which may overlap with subjective well- CONCLUSION
being. Meaning in work is related to the role of the
work itself, which does something valuable and self- Workplace well-being is a feeling of well-being
actualization. that employees get from their work, which related to
3. Social well-being general employee feelings and satisfaction with the
Social welfare includes satisfaction with fellow intrinsic and extrinsic values of a job. Aspects that
employees and satisfaction in interacting with affect workplace well-being include organizational
leaders. Another relevant construction is social climate, the quality of interaction between superiors
support which has two main dimensions such as and subordinates, job demand, personality, type of
emotional support and instrumental support. Giving work environment, health and welfare concepts,
also receives social support is a predictor of well- problems at work, problems imported into the
being. An additional aspect of social welfare in the workplace, work stress. Workplace well-being
workplace that might be included is a sense of affects various aspects including performance,
belonging that is embedded in the work community psychological capital, and employee engagement.
[7]. Other models of workplace well-being are social
The journals collected have similarities in well-being at work, eudaimonic well-being at work,
compiling an understanding of workplace well- and subjective well-being at work.
being. The similarity of theoretical constructs used
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