Content uploaded by Khairunesa Isa
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Khairunesa Isa on Oct 20, 2019
Content may be subject to copyright.
International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE)
ISSN: 2277-3878, Volume-8, Issue-3, September 2019
6551
Published By:
Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
& Sciences Publication
Retrieval Number: C5299098319/2019©BEIESP
DOI:10.35940/ijrte.C5299.098319
Abstract: Organizational achievement is determined by a
number of factors, particularly human resources. Human
resources with high levels of happiness will affect productivity and
the smoothness of tasks performed. Since employees spend most
of their day working in an organization, it is obvious that the
organizational environment will affect the employees’ emotional
well-being. This article discusses the meaning of happiness at
workplace and the leadership factors that influence employees’
happiness. Other than adopting effective leadership concepts,
leaders who have the skills to listen and think about the career
path of the employees are found to highly influence their
employees' happiness in the organization.
Keywords: employees’ happiness, skills to listen, effective
leadership, organizational achievement
I. INTRODUCTION
Happiness can be referred to as a general term that describes
life in peace and happiness (Fisher, 2010). Individuals who
achieve their goals in life will experience the joys of
happiness and thus achieve the desired satisfaction in life.
Happiness is something that is subjective and needed by
humans. However, the interpretation of each individual's
happiness is different because it has different physical and
mental effects on human life. Employees are important assets
in ensuring that the organization continues to achieve its
goals. Employees who show great potential will have a huge
impact on the success of the organization. However,
organizations also need highly committed employees so that
they can contribute positive impacts to the overall
organizational performance. In this context, it is important for
organizations to ensure that the employees are able to remain
loyal and continue working in the organizations.
II. PROBLEM STATEMENT
According to Gavin da Mason (2004), in order to achieve
happiness in life, individuals need to work in an organization
that can influence their level of happiness. Organizational
supports such as the facilities provided, the role of
management and the influence of co-workers are crucial in
promoting happy employees (Cannon, 2017; Bader et al.,
2013 and Siska and Ami, 2014). The interaction that exists
between an employer and an employee either formally or
informally is strongly associated with the employee's level of
Revised Manuscript Received on September 23, 2019
Khairunesa Isa*, Public and Curriculum Study Centre, Universiti Tun
Hussein Onn Malaysia, Johor. Email: nesa@uthm.edu.my
Siti Solehah Tenah, Research Management Centre, Universiti Tun
Hussein Onn Malaysia, Johor. Email : solehah@uthm.edu.my
Asliaty Atim, Centre of Language Studies, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn
Malaysia, Johor. Email: asliaty@uthm.edu.my
Nor Aishah Mat Jam, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Johor.
Email: naishah9204@gmail.com
happiness. However, in most organizations today there are
leaders who do not treat their employees in a proper manner
(Arnetz, 1999). Some leaders are rude to their employees
especially when they are unable to provide a more innovative
perspective in their work (Abdul Raziq and Raheela, 2015).
From a psychological point of view, these workers will be
embarrassed and turn the event into a negative experience that
may contribute to low work motivation which ultimately
causes the employees to feel unhappy in the organization
(Ma’arof, 2001). According to Sulaiman (2014) employees
are unhappy at work when there is a communication gap
between the superiors and the staff members, employers are
not concerned with the development of the workforce,
employees’ ideas are ignored, lack of welfare benefits to the
workers and the employers do not appreciate what their
employees have done.
As a leader in an organization, there are some principles
that a leader should practise when dealing with the employees
such as being realistic, fair, considerate and empathic.
According to Chiumento (2006), organizational leadership
factors such as cooperation in management, structure and
work system, decision-making power, leadership credibility
and employer recognition can also contribute to a stressful
employee. Therefore, it is important for leaders to ensure that
every action taken in any situation in the organization, such as
in making decisions and giving directions, is carried out in a
rational and prudent manner. For that reason, this study was
conducted to determine the leadership qualities that enable
employees to feel happy while working in the organization.
III. LITERATURE REVIEW
Happiness can be defined as a positive or negative response
that affects the level of satisfaction in human life (Diener et
al., 1995). According to Jain (2012), happiness results from
one's emotions and pleasant feelings as well as positive
attitude towards something. Happy individuals are more
likely to offer help to others besides being creative in doing
things, being pro-social in society, being charitable and
healthier both physically and mentally (Diener & Dean,
2007).
Happiness in the workplace is a positive feeling that
employees have every time they are at work. This feeling
arises when employees are able to manage, carry out their
tasks and produce outputs that give them satisfaction (Pryce
and Jones, 2010). Happiness in the workplace not only refers
to individual intrinsic factors but also to individual extrinsic
factors such as organizational environment (Zafir, 2010),
relationship with others (Carr, 2004; Wesarat, Majid and
Sharif, 2015; Wulandri and Widyastuti, 2014); and other
factors that are directly related to the tasks performed such as
job satisfaction (Cannon, 2017)
autonomy (Diamond and
Lukman Judge, 2014),
Leading Happiness: Leadership and Happiness
at a Workplace
Khairunesa Isa, Siti Solehah Tenah, Asliaty Atim, Nor Aishah Mat Jam
Leading Happiness: Leadership and Happiness at A Workplace
6552
Published By:
Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
& Sciences Publication
Retrieval Number: C5299098319/2019©BEIESP
DOI:10.35940/ijrte.C5299.098319
leadership, salary, reward and so on. There are many
perspectives of effective leadership in terms of its definition,
role and function. These roles and functions can sometimes
vary depending on the type of field and the organization's
goals.
The status of a leader is seen to be so influential in the
success of an organization that a charismatic leader is said to
be able to reflect the credibility and prestigious reputation of
the organization. According to Bohn’s (2003), leadership or
how a leader behaves is directly related to the organizational
performance. This means that the aspects of leadership have a
direct impact on the organizational performance through the
role of the employees in the organization. Thus, not only the
physical characteristics of the leader but the talent, attitude,
knowledge and skills possessed by the leader are also seen to
have a significant impact on the workforce that ultimately
affects the performance of the organization.
Effective leaders are those who are able to see the future
especially in planning what they want to achieve and the
activities that are in line with their efforts to achieve that goal.
Based on previous leadership theories, Bass (1990) found that
there are three ways of explaining how to be a good and
effective leader (i) according to Trait Theory, some
personality traits will indirectly encourage leaders to act
among other members of their organization, (ii) The Great
Event states that individuals will react based on an event or
crisis that occurs; and (iii) Transformational Leadership
Theory states that anyone can choose to be a leader because
everyone can learn leadership skills and knowledge.
Democratic style of leadership is found to be more influential
in the performance of the employees than the autocratic style
of leadership. According to Iqbal et al., (2015), autocratic
leadership has only a short-term effect compared to
democratic leadership. This is because the autocratic
leadership makes the employees feel compelled to do their
work while democratic leadership encourages employees to
work openly and voluntarily. On the other hand, as an
individual responsible for determining the direction and goals
of an organization, a leader needs to be aware of his or her
position as a leader (Arnold et al., 2001). In this context,
leaders need to be ready at all times to act in any sudden
situation or problem and precede any task before asking
others to take on the task.
II. METHODOLOGY
This survey was conducted on 500 randomly selected
public service organization employees. An open-ended
questionnaire was given to each respondent. Questions were
specifically about the leadership qualities that are expected to
contribute to the employees’ happiness at work.
III. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
The analysis of the open-ended question found that the
leadership element had the highest score of 86 in the
recommendations that need to be taken to promote the
employees’ happiness. On average, respondents expected a
leader to have a good character as well as use a more mature
and transformative leadership style in the organization. The
respondents expected their leaders to be considerate and
unselfish, and think about the welfare of the workers. A leader
who shows off, seeks for fame and yells at the employees, is
found to affect the employees’ happiness. Further analysis
showed that employees would be happier if the leader could
be a good listener. The highest-rated item with the score of 12
stated that a leader who listens would make the employees
happy because the leader would be ready at any time to hear
any thoughts, ideas or problems from the employees. In
addition, the respondents also thought that happiness in the
workplace would be easier to achieve if the leaders adopt
effective leadership approach that is more supportive to the
employees. This is evident when the findings showed that
items such as consideration, respect, understanding of
employees, courtesy and tolerance are needed for employees
to be happier when working under a leader.
According to Meriam and Chaiprasit (2017) and
Santidhirakul (2011), the aspects of leadership are strongly
related to influencing the employees’ level of happiness.
Autocratic leaders will cause employers to feel pressured and
apprehensive. This situation eventually causes the employees
to feel less valued and more likely to call it quits or leave their
current positions. Therefore, the respondents suggested that in
order to achieve a level of happiness the employer should not
be egotistic and bossy, but is more sensitive to the needs and
welfare of their staff members. According to Bass (1985)
transformational leadership characteristics such as
intellectual stimulation, charismatic and individual-centred
thinking can stimulate commitment among employees while
employees who are willing to be committed are those who are
happy and satisfied with their working environment (Isa et al
., 2018).
IV. CONCLUSION
Employment is one of the factors for individuals to achieve
happiness in life. Working is a platform that develops
individuals’ potentials and thus gaining recognition in life.
Therefore, it can be said that besides organizations,
employees also have their own career goals that need to be
achieved in order to accomplish their goals in life. Individuals
who achieve their goals in life will be happy and indirectly,
this will improve their self-esteem. In any organization, a
leader plays an important role in determining the employees’
happiness. Besides ensuring that the organizational
environment can influence the level of employees’ happiness,
a leader also needs to establish leadership qualities that
contribute to the employees’ happiness at work. Having
respect and concern for the welfare of the employees should
be emphasized so that the employees will feel as part of the
organization. Therefore, the employees are more at ease and
happier at work. As a result, not only employees manage to
improve their career performance, but the organization will
also be more productive.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thanks Universiti Tun Hussein Onn
Malaysia (UTHM) for supporting this research under the
UTHM Research Funds Scheme. In addition, the authors also
thanks the respondents for their fully supported in this
research.
International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE)
ISSN: 2277-3878, Volume-8, Issue-3, September 2019
6553
Published By:
Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
& Sciences Publication
Retrieval Number: C5299098319/2019©BEIESP
DOI:10.35940/ijrte.C5299.098319
REFERENCE
1. Agbozo, G. K., Owusu, I, S., Hoedoafia, M, A., & Atakorah, Y, B.
(2017). The Effect of Work Environment on Job Satisfaction: Evidence
from the Banking Sector in Ghana. Journal of Human Resource
Management. Vol. 5(1): 12-18
2. Amirullah, M. (2017). Factor That Lead to Happiness at The Workplace
Among Academician : A Case of UiTM. Malacca. UiTM Malacca City
Campus.
3. Arnetz, B. (1999). Staff Perception of The Impact of Health Care
Transformation on Quality of Care. International Journal for Quality
in Health Care. Vol.11(4), 345-51.
4. Banbury S. and Berry, D. C. (1998). Disruption of Office-related Tasks
by Speech and Office Noise. Journal of Psychology. Vol. 89. 499–517.
5. Bass, B.M. (1985). Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations.
New York : The Free Press.
6. Carr. (2004). Positive Psychology : The Science of Happiness and
Human Strength. New York : Bruner-Roudledge.
7. Carr, J., Kelly, B., Keaton, R & Albercht, C. (2011). Getting To Grips
With Stress In The Workplace Strategies For Promoting A Healthier,
More Productive Environment. Human Resource Management
International Digest 19(4): 32-38
8. Chandrasekar, K. (2011). Workplace Environment And Its Impact On
Organisational Performance In Public Sector Organisations.
International Journal of Enterprise Computing and Business
Systems.Vol. 1 (1), 1-19.
9. Diener, E., Wolsic, B., & Fujita (1995). Physical Attractiveness and
Subjective Well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Vol. 69,120-129.
10. Fisher, C.D. (2010). Happiness at Work. International Journal of
Management Reviews, 12,384-412. Retrieved from DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-0297.00570
11. Gavin, J. H. & Mason, R, O. (2004). The Virtuous Organization : The
Value of Happiness in The Workplace. Organizational Dynamic. Vol.
33. 379-392.
12. Iqbal, Mahdi & Djudi. (2015). Pengaruh Kompensasi dan Kepuasan
Kerja Terhadap Kinerja Karyawan (Studi di PT. PLN (Persero)
Distribusi Jawa Timur Area Malang).Universitas Brawijaya. Malang
13. Jain, A., Saeed, K., Arnaout, S. & Kortum, E. (2012). The Psychosocial
Environment at Work: An Assessment of the World Health
Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. Eastern
Mediterranean Health Journal 18(4),325-331.
14. Lukman Hakim & Berlian, G, S., (2014). Hubungan Antara Otonomi
Kerja Dengan Kebahagiaan Kerja Pada Industri Kreatif. Jurnal
Psikologi Industri dan Organisasi. Vol. 3(1), 210-217.
15. Ma’rof , R., (2001). Psikologi Sosial. Serdang. Universiti Putra
Malaysia.
16. Md Yusoff, A., Ali, J. & Kamaruddin, R. (2014). Kesejahteraan Hidup
Subjektif : Pengaruh Elemen Ekonomi dan Bukan Ekonomi. Prosiding
Persidangan Kebangsaan Ekonomi Malaysia PERKEM ke-9 (2014) 719
- 727
17. Meriam, O.M., (2017). Faktor-faktor Determinan Kebahagiaan Kerja
Karyawan (Studi Kasus Pada PT. Bank Bukopin Tbk. Cabang Manado).
Jurnal Riset Business dan Management. Vol. 5 (4),611-630.
18. Pryce-Jones, J. (2010). Happiness at Work, Maximizing Your
Psychological Capital for Success. Journal of Workplace Behavioral
Health. Vol 26. 271-273
19. Rashid, A. Sharif, M. Narina, A.S & Rosman, Y. (2014). Personality
and Happiness Among Academician in Malaysia. Procedia-Social and
Behavioral Science. Vol. 116, 4209-4212.
20. Aziq, A. & Maulabakhsh, R. (2015). Impact of Working Environment
on Job Satisfaction. Procedia Economics and Finance 23 ( 2015 ),717
– 725
21. Sarode, A. P. & Shirsath, M. (2014). The Factors Affecting Employees
Work Environment and Its Relationship with Employee Productivity.
International Journal of Science and Resource. Vol. 11 (3):
2735-2737.
22. Seligman. (2005). Authentic Happiness. UK: New York.
23. Siska, W. & Ami, W. (2014). Faktor–faktor Kebahagiaan Di Tempat
Kerja. Fakulti Psikologi Universiti Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim
Riau.
24. Smith, R. J. & Knowles, E. S. (1978). Attributional Consequences of
Personal Space Invasion. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
Vol. 4. 429-433.
25. Taufiq, P. (2008). Unlimited Potency of the Brain (Kenali dan
Manfaatkan Sepenuhnya Potensi Otak Anda yang Tak Terbatas),
Bandung: Mizan
26. Utoro, D. T., & Gustomo, A. (2014). Analysis of employee engagement
in PT Kaltim Prima Coal, Indonesia. Journal of Business and
Management. Vol. 3. 475-482.
27. Wesarat, P, Sharif, M.Y, & Abdul Majid. A. H. (2014). Conceptual
Framework of Happiness at the Workplace. Asia Social Science.
28. Wok, S. & Hashim, J. (2014). Communication Network Organizational
Contact and Communication Power in Grooming Professional for
Career Success. Malaysian Journal of Communication. 219-242.
29. Veenhoven, R., (2006). How do we assess how happy we are? Tenets,
implications and tenability of three theories. Paper proceeding at
Conference on ‘New Directions in the Study of Happiness: United
States and International Perspectives’, University of Notre Dame, USA.
30. Zafir, M.M, Hizam, S.M.S.K. & Sa’adah, N.M. (2018). Hubungan stres
pekerjaan dan produktiviti: Tinjauan terhadap pentadbir fakulti
universiti penyelidikan. Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities,
15(5), 168-180.
AUTHORS PROFILE
Dr. Khairunesa Isa, phD, is a lecturer at Science
Social Department, Center for General Studies and
Co-Curricular, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn (UTHM). She
is also leader of Focus Group and Social Impact Focus
Group at the same department. She actively doing
research in Sociology.
Siti Solehah Tenah, is a research manager at Strategy &
Research Data Management Unit, Research Management
Centre (RMC), Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
(UTHM).
Asliaty Atim, is a lecturer at English and Linguistic
Department, Centre of Language Studies, Universiti Tun
Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM).
Nor Aishah Mat Jam, is a research assistant under
supervision Dr. Khairunesa Isa. She was graduated in
Master of Technical Vocational Education and will
pursuing her phD level at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn
Malaysia (UTHM).