Techno-social systems and conservation of resources theory for workplace happiness: Evidence of linear and non-linear influences in healthcare

Workplace happiness is a complex, multifaceted concept viewed as positive organizational behavior. This study demonstrates the influence of ethical leadership, knowledge management systems, task conflict, and knowledge hoarding on workplace happiness in Portuguese hospitals. It employs a rationale based on techno-social systems and conservation of resources theory. Utilizing a two-pronged mixed-methods research design, this work initially evaluates the linear quantitative impact of the variables – ethical leadership, knowledge management systems, task conflict (acting as proxies for techno-social systems), and knowledge hoarding (symbolizing conservation of resources), on workplace happiness among healthcare professionals. Subsequently, we delve into non-linear hypotheses to analyze the complexity of the relationship between these variables, exploring qualitative configurations that attribute to or hinder workplace happiness. Our quantitative findings validate our hypotheses, albeit task conflict exhibits no linear influence on workplace happiness among healthcare professionals. In contrast, our qualitative discoveries propose that two configurations contribute to workplace happiness, whereas three configurations work against it. The study unveils the theoretical and practical implications of these findings, advocating future research directions for the conservation of resources theory and techno-social systems as strategic tools to enhance workplace happiness among healthcare professionals.