Job Satisfaction and Innovative Performance in Young Spanish Employees: Testing New Patterns in the Happy-Productive Worker Thesis—A Discriminant Study

Yarid Ayala (), José Ma. Peiró Silla (), Núria Tordera, Laura Lorente and Jesús Yeves
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Yarid Ayala: University of Valencia
José Ma. Peiró Silla: University of Valencia
Núria Tordera: University of Valencia
Laura Lorente: University of Valencia
Jesús Yeves: Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM)

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2017, vol. 18, issue 5, No 7, 1377-1401

Abstract: Abstract We aimed to make a theoretical contribution to the happy-productive worker thesis by expanding the study to cases where this thesis does not fit. We hypothesized and corroborated the existence of four relations between job satisfaction and innovative performance: (a) unhappy-unproductive, (b) unhappy-productive, (c) happy-unproductive, and (d) happy-productive. We also aimed to contribute to the happy-productive worker thesis by studying some conditions that influence and differentiate among the four patterns. Hypotheses were tested in a sample of 513 young employees representative of Spain. Cluster analysis and discriminant analysis were performed. We identified the four patterns. Almost 15 % of the employees had a pattern largely ignored by previous studies (e.g., unhappy-productive). As hypothesized, to promote well-being and performance among young employees, it is necessary to fulfill the psychological contract, encourage initiative, and promote job self-efficacy. We also confirmed that over-qualification characterizes the unhappy-productive pattern, but we failed to confirm that high job self-efficacy characterizes the happy-productive pattern. The results show the relevance of personal and organizational factors in studying the well-being-performance link in young employees.

Keywords: Job satisfaction; Innovative performance; Happy-productive worker thesis; Young employees; Discriminant analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10902-016-9778-1

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