Testing the ‘Happy‐Performing Managers Proposition’ on WA Managers
Project Summary
This research develops and extends the ‘Happy-Performing Managers Proposition’ within the West Australian context across private, public and third-sector settings. There is general support for a ‘Happy Productive Worker Hypothesis’ within the academic literature, however a refined version designed specifically for managers was the focus of this research. By testing the impact of managers’ job-related stressors (role ambiguity, role conflict and role overload) this research was able to establish that these factors were instrumental in determining the level of manager happiness ([state and trait] and affective job satisfaction), and consequently impacting on their performance on the job as well as their Contextual Performance.
This is the first research investigating the impact of role stressors and manager happiness on different aspects of managers’ performance, and therefore it reveals a number of findings that can help organizational decision makers better manage their managers.
Project Outputs
Happy Managers Gallery
The online Happy Managers Gallery features interviews with senior managers on the influence of happiness on their job performance.
Bosses deserve to be happy at work too – here’s how
The Conversation, 11 June 2018
We intuitively know that a “happy worker is a good worker.” But what about their bosses? In the modern workplace, managers are accountable to several groups of people, from rank-and-file employees on one side, to chief executives and shareholders on the other. How well they juggle these conflicting pressures can determine not only their performance at work, but also how happy they are while doing it.
The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre team acknowledges the Wadjuk Nyungar people as the traditional owners of the land on which the Centre is situated.