Identifying antecedents and outcomes of employee well-being and its implications during Covid times

Abstract

In recent times, there have been substantial changes in the context in which work is carried out. Technological advancement, the process of globalization, heterogeneity in the workforce, increase in competition, increase in the number of women in the workforce, are some of the changes that have influenced the work environment. Employee well-being is under increasing threat due to the pressures at work and in society, and hence there is a strong ethical case for focusing on employee well-being. In addition to this, the Covid pandemic has posed severe challenges to organisations and employees. People in low-paid, self-employed, or insecure occupations experienced the greatest impact due to loss of work or the temporary closure of their business. Heightened feelings of anxiety and depression were reported along with fear of post-lockdown anxiety and paranoia. The largest stressor was an overarching feeling of loss (loss of income, routine or social interaction). This paper aims to focus on identifying and systematically analysing the literature published on employee well-being from 2015 to 2021. Specifically, it aims to answer two questions: “Q1 – What are the antecedents and outcomes related to employee well-being?” and “Q2 – How can the findings of this research be used to further research in the domain of employee well-being?”. The five stages suggested by Denyer and Tranfield, (2009) for systematic literature review have been followed. Training & Development, Job design, Workplace Environment, Participative management, and Organisation support were identified as antecedents that address the above concerns of the employees. It was also found that the psychological perception of an employee has a significant positive impact on the relationship between job design and employee performance. A significant relationship was found between workplace environment and job performance, where work motivation mediated this relationship. Participation in workplace decision-making and employee voice behaviour have a positive impact on employee well-being. In addition to this, there were also findings in the literature related to well-being that could have important ramifications in the current Covid times.