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Does Worker Wellbeing Affect Workplace Performance?

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  • Bryson, Alex

    (University College London)

  • Forth, John

    (City University London)

  • Stokes, Lucy

    (Competition and Markets Authority)

Abstract

This paper uses linked employer-employee data to investigate the relationship between employees' subjective well-being and workplace performance in Britain. The analyses show a clear, positive and statistically-significant relationship between the average level of job satisfaction at the workplace and workplace performance. This finding is present in both cross-sectional and panel analyses and is robust to various estimation methods and model specifications. In contrast, we find no association between levels of job-related affect and workplace performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Bryson, Alex & Forth, John & Stokes, Lucy, 2015. "Does Worker Wellbeing Affect Workplace Performance?," IZA Discussion Papers 9096, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9096
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    2. Petri Böckerman & Pekka Ilmakunnas, 2012. "The Job Satisfaction-Productivity Nexus: A Study Using Matched Survey and Register Data," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(2), pages 244-262, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lucía Mateos-Romero & María del Mar Salinas-Jiménez, 2017. "Skills Heterogeneity Among Graduate Workers: Real and Apparent Overeducation in the Spanish Labor Market," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(3), pages 1247-1264, July.
    2. Regina Lutz & Wolfgang Fischmann & Hans Drexler & Elisabeth Nöhammer, 2022. "A German Model Project for Workplace Health Promotion—Flow of Communication, Information, and Reasons for Non-Participation in the Offered Measures," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-14, July.
    3. Alex Bryson, 2016. "Health and safety risks in Britain's workplaces: where are they and who controls them?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(5-6), pages 547-566, November.
    4. Rostiana, 2019. "Multi-dimensional Individual Work Performance: Predictors and Mediators," GATR Journals gjbssr529, Global Academy of Training and Research (GATR) Enterprise.
    5. Andrea Salvatori & Seetha Menon & Wouter Zwysen, 2018. "The effect of computer use on job quality: Evidence from Europe," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 200, OECD Publishing.
    6. Devina Sharma & Uma Joshi, 2016. "A Comparative Study of Work Culture, Job Performance, and Subjective Well-being of Private and Public Sector Banks," Metamorphosis: A Journal of Management Research, , vol. 15(2), pages 102-108, December.
    7. Blanchflower, David G. & Bryson, Alex, 2022. "Taking the pulse of nations: A biometric measure of well-being," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    8. Alex Bryson & Christine Erhel & Zinaida Salibekyan, 2021. "Perceptions of non-pecuniary job quality using linked employer–employee data," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 27(2), pages 113-129, June.
    9. Petri Böckerman & Alex Bryson & Antti Kauhanen & Mari Kangasniemi, 2016. "Does Job Support Make Workers Happy?," DoQSS Working Papers 16-16, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    10. Ralf Werner Koßmann, 2016. "Effectiveness of Social Capital in the Job Search Process," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 823, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    11. Marijana Andrijić & Tajana Barbić, 2021. "When the Going Gets Tough … the Effect of Economic Reform Programmes on National Well-Being," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    12. Sarah Brown & Alexandros Kontonikas & Alberto Montagnoli & Mirko Moro & Luisanna Onnis, 2018. "Austerity, Life Satisfaction and Expectations," Working Papers 2018001, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.
    13. Brown, Sarah & Kontonikas, Alexandros & Montagnoli, Alberto & Moro, Mirko & Onnis, Luisanna, 2021. "Life satisfaction and austerity: Expectations and the macroeconomy," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    14. Christoph Hauser, 2015. "Effects of Employee Social Capital on Wage Satisfaction, Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment," Working Papers 2015-12, Faculty of Economics and Statistics, Universität Innsbruck.
    15. Alex Bryson & John Forth, 2016. "What Role Did Management Practices Play in SME Growth Post-recession?," DoQSS Working Papers 16-11, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    16. Seetha Menon & Andrea Salvatori & Wouter Zwysen, 2020. "The Effect of Computer Use on Work Discretion and Work Intensity: Evidence from Europe," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(4), pages 1004-1038, December.
    17. Anna Maccagnan & Sam Wren-Lewis & Helen Brown & Tim Taylor, 2019. "Wellbeing and Society: Towards Quantification of the Co-benefits of Wellbeing," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(1), pages 217-243, January.
    18. Michael C. Ewers & Abdoulaye Diop & Kien Trung Le & Lina Bader, 2020. "Migrant Worker Well-Being and Its Determinants: The Case of Qatar," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 137-163, November.
    19. Alex Bryson & Lucy Stokes & David Wilkinson, 2020. "Can Human Resource Management Improve Schools' Performance?," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 34(4), pages 427-440, December.
    20. Oana Matilda SABIE & Catalin PÎRVU & ?tefan Gabriel BURCEA & Roxana Maria BRI?CARIU & Simona Alexandra APOSTOL (VOICU), 2020. "The Influence Of Emotional Intelligence On Employee’S Performance: A Case From Romania’S Public Sector," REVISTA ADMINISTRATIE SI MANAGEMENT PUBLIC, Faculty of Administration and Public Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 2020(35), pages 40-57, December.
    21. AttaUllah & Zeeshan Javed & SaifUllah & Muhammad Sheraz & Prof. Dr. Anwar Irshad Burney, 2018. "The Impact of Human Capital Well-being on the Work Performance and Organizational Productivity," KASBIT Business Journals (KBJ), Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari Institute of Technology (KASBIT), vol. 11(1), pages 34-56, December.
    22. Christoph Hauser & Urban Perkmann & Sibylle Puntscher & Janette Walde & Gottfried Tappeiner, 2016. "Trust Works! Sources and Effects of Social Capital in the Workplace," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(2), pages 589-608, September.
    23. McKay, Andy & Newell, Andrew T. & Rienzo, Cinzia, 2018. "Job Satisfaction among Young Workers in Eastern and Southern Africa: A Comparative Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 11380, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    24. Petri Böckerman, 2015. "High involvement management and employee well-being," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 171-171, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    subjective wellbeing; job satisfaction; job-related affect; workplace performance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy

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