Psychological Well-being of Employees, its Precedents and Outcomes: A Literature Review and Proposed Framework

Abstract

Is the psychological well-being (PWB) of employees essential to be considered by organizations? Does it have an impact on an organization in the long-run? This study attempts to provide a holistic view of literature on PWB and how it has become indispensable for employees and the organization. The study also proposes a framework consisting of precedents and outcomes of PWB of employees in organizations. A review of the literature of 142 studies was done using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework along with the main construct PWB and ten related organizational variables. PWB has been analysed from a eudaimonic perspective. Literature review reveals the scarcity of management literature on the eudaimonic sense of well-being of employees, and how well-being is not distinguished on the basis of its philosophical roots. Our research discusses the variables which have been studied comprehensively in juxtaposition with well-being, and also those variables which are yet to be explored with eudaimonia as the focus. The study is a novel attempt to systematize literature on the under-examined eudaimonic perspective of PWB of employees and its relationship with prominent organizational variables. The study intends to give practitioners and the managers value adding insights into the factors that affect the PWB of employees and also how these factors can be honed for better employee mental health leading to higher organizational returns.