Exploring the Relationship between Workplace Happiness and Employee Performance in the Public Sector of UAE

This research aims to explore the relationship between workplace happiness and employee performance in the public sector of UAE, taking into account the Happiness Mission of the government. The literature review covers factors contributing to workplace happiness and employee performance. The research methodology includes data collection and analysis, ethical considerations, and outcomes.

Running head: DOCTORATE RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Doctorate Research Proposal
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................3
1.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................3
1.2 Background......................................................................................................................3
1.3 Research Objectives.........................................................................................................5
1.4 Research Questions..........................................................................................................5
2. LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................................................6
2.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................6
2.2 Workplace Happiness.......................................................................................................6
2.2.1 Workplace Happiness: Meaning and Definitions.....................................................6
2.2.2 Factors contributing to Workplace Happiness..........................................................7
2.3 Employee Performances...................................................................................................9
2.3.1 Employee Performances: Definitions and Meanings................................................9
2.3.2 Factors affecting employee performance................................................................10
2.4 Relationship between Workplace Happiness and Employee Performance....................10
2.5 Happiness Mission in the UAE......................................................................................11
2.6 Literature Gap................................................................................................................11
3. Research Methodology.........................................................................................................11
3.1 Research Approach and Design.....................................................................................11
3.2 Research Method............................................................................................................12

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3.3 Data Collection and Analysis.........................................................................................12
3.4 Ethical Consideration.....................................................................................................12
4. Outcomes..............................................................................................................................13
5. Research Timeline................................................................................................................14
References................................................................................................................................15

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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
The global business and commercial framework, over the decades, has undergone
immense changes and dynamics and has increasingly become more integrated, inclusive and
inter-connected, much of which can be attributed to the factors like that of Globalisation,
Trade Liberalisation and inherent technological as well as infrastructural innovations in
different countries with time (Kapoor and Sherif 2012).
To stay competitive, in the contemporary global framework, the businesses require to
increase their operational and productive efficiencies, to stay profitable and sustainable in the
long run. A considerable share of the profitability and sustainability of any business
organization, depends on the performance and productivity of its productive resources, of
which the labour resources or the employees form the most significant ones (J. Cole, Oliver
and Blaviesciunaite 2014). The performance of the employees, in turn, depends on several
factors, of which one of the most significant ones is that of the overall level of happiness and
satisfaction in their workplaces.
Keeping this into consideration, the concerned research proposes to explore and
discuss the aspects of workplace happiness and employee performance and the relationships
existing between these two phenomena, in the light of the public sector of one of the most
impressively developed economies, of that of the United Arab Emirates, taking into account
the Happiness Mission which has been recently taken up by the government of the country, to
ensure an overall happy and productive population.
1.2 Background
As discussed above, in the contemporary period, with the dynamics in the lives of
people increasing, both in personal as well as professional aspects, with a comparatively fast

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paced way of living in general, the level of stresses and anxiety can be found to be rising
among the population in the global framework. These in turn, negatively affects not only the
mental peace of the population but also hamper their personal and professional abilities,
which have considerable negative externalities, especially in the professional domains as
much of their performance, ability and creativity depends on the mental satisfaction and
happiness quotient of the population (Kapoor and Sherif 2012).
In this context, the concept of “Happiness” has over the years, developed from an
abstract attribute of individual personnel, to a necessary requisite for a health and productive
population in a country and various countries have been taking this issue seriously,
emphasizing on ways to increase the level of happiness among their population (Layous and
Lyubomirsky 2014). Various measures like those of Happiness Index and others, have been
developed in the recent period, to assess and develop the overall perceptions of standard of
living and level of satisfaction of people. The government of United Arab Emirates, in this
context, has devised its National Programme for Happiness and Positivity, with the aim of
making the country one of the five top happiest countries in the global framework by 2021
(Alsaadi and Miniaoui 2018).
In this context, it becomes crucial to observe how happiness can be generated in the
professional work setups of the employees and how that affect the overall performance levels
of the employees in those respective workplaces, especially in case of the United Arab
Emirates, as the government of the country has already started emphasizing on the Happiness
Mission for its population. The concerned research aims to study these aspects in the
backdrop of the public sector in the concerned country.

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1.3 Research Objectives
The primary objective of the concerned research is to study the aspects of Workplace
Happiness and Employee Performance and the relationship between the two (if any). The
concerned research aims to explore and evaluate the public sectors in the United Arab
Emirates and how the happiness in these workplaces influence the performance of the
employees and the effects of the same on the overall organizational performance of the public
sector of the country.
1.4 Research Questions
The primary research question for the proposed research is as follows:
How workplace happiness contributes to the performance of the employees in the public-
sector organizations in the United Arab Emirates?
The secondary research questions based on the above question, which the research
aims to explore are as follows:
 How the employees perceive happiness in workplace?
 What are the factors which affect the happiness of employees in their workplaces?
 Do the public-sector employees in the UAE perceive themselves to be happy in their
workplaces?
 How does the happiness in the workplace influences the performance of the
employees in the public sectors of the UAE?
 How does the same relates with the Happiness Mission taken by the government of
the country?

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2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
Over the years, the different aspects of professional operations like those of employee
performance and the factors affecting the same, have been emphasized on, by different
scholars and researchers over the years, in the global framework. Substantial literary and
scholarly evidences are also present in the aspects of workplace happiness, the drivers behind
the same and its overall implications. Keeping this into consideration, the concerned research
conducts an extensive review of the existing literatures and empirically evidenced scholarly
works, present in this domain and in the domains of the Happiness Mission of the
government of UAE, to get an insight of the ideas and opinions existing in these domains, in
the global framework, over the years.
2.2 Workplace Happiness
2.2.1 Workplace Happiness: Meaning and Definitions
The term “Happiness” is a highly abstract and multidimensional attribute of the life of
people, which has been defined variously by different people over the years, from different
perspectives. Veenhoven (2013), in this context, provides one of the most comprehensive and
inclusive definitions of the same, referring to the same as being an individual hedonic
attribute, which is accompanied by enjoyable feelings as well as desirable judgements of the
individuals. On the other hand, Sheldon and Lucas (2014), provide more of a eudemonic
explanation for happiness, where the same is defined as the satisfaction and feeling of an
individual from various virtuous, meaningful or moral activities, which gives him or her the
sense of self-actualization, self-judgements and pleasant feelings.
In this context, the notion of workplace happiness is defined by Dik, Byrne and Steger
(2013), as the level of happiness which the employees feel in their workplaces and in their
professional lives. The interpretation of “Workplace Happiness” as provided by the above-

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mentioned authors, can be seen to be augmented in the literary work of Seligman (2012), who
again, suggests that the aspect of happiness in the workplaces is not a unidimensional one and
cannot be explained from one perspective as the perception of the same can vary from person
to person, attributing to their individual inherent differences.
Malik (2013), in this context, highlights the different aspects and perceptions of
employees which generally define and interpret happiness in the workplaces. According to
the author, the main attributes of workplace happiness are as follows:
 The employees enjoy their works and responsibilities
 The employees have the ability and provision to do good works and feel proud about
the same
 The workers feel that they are important for the organizations
 Appreciations for good work (Thin 2012)
 Working in a positive environment
 Employees feel motivated and also energised
2.2.2 Factors contributing to Workplace Happiness
There remains substantial literary works regarding the feasible factors which
contribute towards the happiness of the employees in their workplaces. Sharif and Majid
(2014), in this context, provides a conceptual framework regarding the factors which
contribute to the employees’ happiness in the workplaces, which can be seen as follows:

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Figure 1: Factors contributing to happiness in workplaces
(Source: Sharif and Majid 2014)
 Status of employment- As per the assertions of Bakker, Oerlemans and Ten
Brummelhuis (2013), the status of employment, showing the situation of professional
engagement of individuals, has direct implications on the level of satisfaction and
happiness of people. According to the empirically evidenced work of the authors,
happiness can be seen to be least among the involuntarily unemployed population,
followed by the part-time or casual employed workers. The formal and full-time
employees are found to be comparatively happier than both these sections.
LaMontagne et al. (2014), relates the same to the aspects of employment security,
which directly contributes to the level of happiness of the employees in their
workplaces.
 Income- The income of the employees also forms one of the most significant factors
contributing to the level of happiness and satisfaction which the employees feel in the
professional engagements (Yano, Lyubomirsky and Chancellor 2012). Dehaghi
(2012), argues that as with higher income the purchasing power and choices as well as
the overall living standards of people increase, this reflect on their satisfaction levels
positively.

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 Friendship- According to Olsson et al. (2013), the relationships of the employees
with their co-workers, workplace peers and their superiors as well as sub-ordinates
also contribute significantly to their happiness levels in their respective workplaces.
 Work Activities- The level of happiness and satisfaction of the employees also depend
on the responsibilities which are bestowed upon them in their workplaces, as per the
assertions of Spicer and Cederström (2015). As per the authors, workers in general,
tend to relate high responsibilities with greater trust on part of the companies, which
makes them feel important, thereby increasing their level of happiness.
 Cultural Aspects- Schullery (2013), suggests that the overall satisfaction of
employees also depend on the overall cultural trends which the workplace shows, of
that of individualism or collectivism, which in turn depends on the regions in which
the companies operate.
 Work-place Flexibility- Apart from the above-mentioned factors, the attributes like
work-place flexibilities, the convenience of flexible shifts, working from home, flexi-
leaves also increase the happiness levels of the employees (Golden, Henly and
Lambert 2013).
 Appreciation- Ju, Kwon and Nam (2015), suggest that the aspects of employee
recognition and appreciation of the efforts of the employees also contribute in
increasing the happiness of the same in their respective professional engagements.
2.3 Employee Performances
2.3.1 Employee Performances: Definitions and Meanings
As per Anitha (2014), the performance of the employees shows the job-related
activities of the workers and how well the employees execute the same. Shields et al. (2015),
indicates that the performance of the employees, although cannot be conceptualized by one

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particular theory, the same can however be measured by the overall performance of the
organizations and the productivity of the employees as well as their contributions in the same.
2.3.2 Factors affecting employee performance
As per the literary evidences there are different factors which contribute to the
performance of the employees in an organization, the primary ones being as follows:
 Job Fit- The fit of the employees in the jobs assigned to them and their skill levels
and knowledge contribute to the level of performance of the employees.
 Training- Elnaga and Imran (2013), assert that the training and skill development
procedures in an organization also increases the performance of the workers in the
same.
 Company culture and Morale- Carter et al. (2013) augments that the overall culture
prevailing in the companies and the level of positivity and morality present in the
work environment also have implications on the performance of the employees.
2.4 Relationship between Workplace Happiness and Employee Performance
Devonish (2013), links the aspects of happiness in the workplaces with that of the
overall performance of the employees., by asserting the ways in which the former affects the
latter, which are as follows:
 Happy workers tend to work better.
 Happiness in workplaces make the employees more creative
 When the workers are happy they tend to compete less and try to find solutions to
their problems
 Happiness in workplace also motivates the employees to be loyal and to learn their
roles and improvise faster

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 The people in a happy work environment tend to be less worried about their mistakes,
which in turn makes them freer to perform (Robertson, Jansen Birch and Cooper
2012)
2.5 Happiness Mission in the UAE
The government of the UAE, implemented the National Programme for Happiness
and Positivity, which designs the policy framework of the government of the country so as to
promote an overall virtuous and positive lifestyle for the population of the country (Rahuma,
Al Ali and Kuijken 2018). The areas covered are as follows:
 Including happiness in policies and government framework
 Promoting positivity as a lifestyle component for the residents
 Development of measurements of happiness in the country (Government.ae, 2018)
2.6 Literature Gap
In spite of the presence of extensive literary evidences in the aspects of employee
performance and workplace happiness, not much evidences can be found in the aspects of the
relations and implications of the same in the public-sector organizations and their employees,
especially in the domain of UAE, the country being already taking happiness as a crucial
component of livelihood. The concerned research aims to explore the concerned arena.
3. Research Methodology
To carry out the concerned research, it is of immense importance to develop a robust research
framework and to use the relevant tools:
3.1 Research Approach and Design
The concerned research aims to take the deductive approach where the evidences will
be collected and analysed regarding the concerned issue, based on which the inferences about

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the research questions stated above will be derived. Exploratory design will be implemented
to analyse the factors and causal effect between different factors in depth (Neuman 2013).
3.2 Research Method
A mixed method will be implemented for the concerned research, with both
quantitative and qualitative analysis. The quantitative aspects will venture in analysing the
presence or absence of relationship between workplace happiness and employee performance
and the effects of the same on different organizations in the UAE. On the other hand, the
cardinal aspects like the factors behind these two variables and the mode in which they are
linked, as per the perceptions of the relevant individuals will be analysed with the help of the
qualitative analysis (Lewis 2015).
3.3 Data Collection and Analysis
Primary data will be collected to maintain the quality and authenticity of the research
and to remove any unwanted bias. The quantitative data will be collected in the form of
survey forms with open ended questions while the qualitative data will be collected by
conducting in-depth interviews with the relevant individuals from the public-sector
organizations in the concerned country (Neuman 2013). Statistical platform, SPSS, is
proposed to be used for the analysis and interpretation of the quantitative data while for the
qualitative data, thematic analysis is proposed to be undertaken.
3.4 Ethical Consideration
The researcher proposes to take into account the importance of conducting the
research in an ethical environment (Greenfield 2016). The tools and data collection process
will be conducted only after approval from the ethical body and the interviews will also be
conducted only after receiving written consent from the respondents. Confidentiality will also
be maintained to preserve the dignity and privacy of the selected respondents.

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4. Outcomes
The research, if conducted appropriately, is expected to provide insights about the
exact means in which the workplace happiness attributes are linked to the performance of the
employees and how the same affect the overall organizational performances, in the targeted
public sector of the UAE. The research is also expected to provide insights regarding the
implications of the same on the overall Happiness Mission on which the government of the
concerned country has embarked in the recent periods and on how the policy frameworks of
the government can affect the workplace happiness of the employees and their professional
performances. This in turn, may open prospects for future research in these aspects, in the
global framework, thereby having considerable significations in the contemporary global
business and commercial scenarios if carried out efficiently.

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5. Research Timeline
Research
Activities
Month 1-3 Month 4-12 Month 12-28 Month 28-36
Ideation 
Design of the
Research

Collection of
Data
 
Analysis,
Interpretation
of Data and
Report
Formation

Publication 

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