“You are Happy,so I am Happy?” A Study on the Trickle-Down Effects of Well-Being in the Organisation

Abstract

With the mounting pressure of work and life, improving personal well-being has become increasingly significant. Existing studies illustrate that hierarchical relationships in organisations may affect employees’ perceptions and cognitions. However, there is a relative lack of research on the trickle-down of well-being across different hierarchical levels. This paper examines a trickle-down model of well-being across three hierarchical levels (i.e., CEO, middle-level managers and employees), as well as the synergistic effect of human resource management (HRM). We used a mixed-method design. In-depth interviews of middle managers and non-managerial employees offered initial insights for our research questions and hypotheses. Multi-level analyses of 1,386 employees from 120 enterprises further tested and confirmed that CEO well-being may independently affect the well-being of two middle-level managers (the line manager and the HR manager) and further improve employee well-being. Besides, a significant three-way interactive effect, among line-manager well-being, HR-manager well-being and commitment-based HRM, may synergistically promote employee well-being. When line-manager well-being, HR-manager well-being and commitment-based HRM are all high, employees exhibit the highest level of well-being. The results provide support for the application of a trickle-down model of well-being and extend the research on the synergy between leaders and HRM systems.

Keywords

well-being trickle-down effect line manager HR manager commitment-based HRM

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abdel-Khalek

A. M.

(2006). Measuring happiness with a single-item scale. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 34(2), 139–150. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2006.34.2.139

Ambrose

M. L.

Schminke

Mayer

D. M.

(2013). Trickle-down effects of supervisor perceptions of interactional justice: A moderated mediation approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(4), 678–689. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032080

Anglim

Horwood

Smillie

L. D.

Marrero

R. J.

Wood

J. K.

(2020). Predicting psychological and subjective well-being from personality: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 146(4), 279–323. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000226

Arthur

J. B.

(1994). Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 37(3), 670–687. https://doi.org/10.5465/256705

Bandura

(1977). Social learning theory. Prentice-Hall.

Bandura

(1978). Social learning theory of aggression. Journal of Communication, 28(3), 12–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1978.tb01621.x

Baron

J. N.

Kreps

D. M.

(1999). Consistent human resource practices. California Management Review, 41(3), 29–53. https://doi.org/10.2307/41165996

Baron

Kenny

(1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173

Barsade

S. G.

(2002). The ripple effect: Emotional contagion and its influence on group behavior. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47(4), 644–675. https://doi.org/10.2307/3094912

10.

Boon

Kalshoven

(2014). How high-commitment HRM relates to engagement and commitment: The moderating role of task proficiency. Human Resource Management, 53(3), 403–420. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21569

11.

Bos-Nehles

A. C.

Vanriemsdijk

M. J.

Looise

J. K.

(2013). Employee perceptions of line management performance: Applying the AMO theory to explain the effectiveness of line managers’ HRM implementation. Human Resource Management, 52(6), 861–877. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21578

12.

Brown

M. E.

Trevino

L. K.

Harrison

D. A.

(2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning theory perspective for construct development. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.03.002

13.

Bryson

Forth

Stokes

(2017). Does employees’ subjective well-being affect workplace performance? Human Relations, 70(8), 1017–1037. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726717693073

14.

Burns

(1999). Collaborative action research for English language teachers. Cambridge University Press.

15.

Cropanzano

Wright

T. A.

(2001). When a “happy” worker is really a “productive” worker: A review and further refinement of the happy-productive worker thesis. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 53(3), 182–199. https://doi.org/10.1037/1061-4087.53.3.182

16.

Delery

J. E.

Doty

D. H.

(1996). Modes of theorizing in strategic human resource management: Tests of universalistic, contingency, and configurational performance predictions. Academy of Management Journal, 39(4), 802–835. https://doi.org/10.5465/256713

17.

Diener

(1984). Subjective wellbeing. Psychological Bulletin, 95(3), 542–575. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.95.3.542

18.

Diener

Biswas-Diener

(2002). Will money increase subjective well-being? Social Indicators Research, 57(2), 119–169. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014411319119

19.

Diener

Heintzelman

S. J.

Kushlev

Tay

Wirtz

Lutes

L. D.

Oishi

(2017). Findings all psychologists should know from the new science on subjective well-being. Canadian Psychology / Psychologie Canadienne, 58(2), 87–104. https://doi.org/10.1037/cap0000063

20.

Diener

Suh

E. M.

Lucas

R. E.

Smith

H. L.

(1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125(2), 276–302. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276

21.

Flick

(2006). Qualitative Evaluationsforschung. Konzepte, Methoden, Umsetzungen. Reinbek bei Hamburg. Rowohlt.

22.

Franklin

J. L.

(1975). Down the organization: Influence processes across levels of hierarchy. Administrative Science Quarterly, 20(2), 153–164. https://doi.org/10.2307/2391691

23.

French

J. R.

Raven

Cartwright

(1959). The bases of social power. In Cartwright

(Ed.), Studies in Social Power (pp. 150–67). Ann Arbor, MI: Inst. Soc. Res.

24.

George

J. M.

Brief

A. P.

(1992). Feeling good-doing good: A conceptual analysis of the mood at work-organizational spontaneity relationship. Psychological Bulletin, 112(2), 310–329. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.112.2.310

25.

Grawitch

M. J.

Gottschalk

Munz

D. C.

(2006). The path to a healthy workplace: A critical review linking healthy workplace practices, employee well-being, and organizational improvements. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 58(3), 129–147. https://doi.org/10.1037/1065-9293.58.3.129

26.

Guest

(2003). Human resource management, corporate performance and employee wellbeing: Building the worker into HRM. Journal of Industrial Relations, 44(3), 335–358. https://doi.org/10.1111/1472-9296.00053

27.

Guest

D. E.

(2017). Human resource management and employee wellbeing: Towards a new analytic framework. Human Resource Management Journal, 27(1), 22–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12139

28.

Hambrick

D. C.

Mason

P. A.

(1984). Upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers. Academy of Management Review, 9(2), 193–206. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1984.4277628

29.

Hancock

A. J.

Moreno

N. E. D.

Arnold

K. A.

(2023). The role of line managers in promoting and protecting employee well-being. In Organizational stress and well-being (pp. 123–152). Cambridge University Press.

30.

Hatfield

Cacioppo

J. T.

Rapson

R. L.

(1993). Emotional contagion. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2(3), 96–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.ep10770953

31.

Heinitz

Lorenz

Schulze

Schorlemmer

(2018). Positive organizational behavior: Longitudinal effects on subjective well-being. PLoS One, 13(6), Article e0198588. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0198588

32.

Hendriks

Burger

Rijsenbilt

Pleeging

Commandeur

(2020). Virtuous leadership: A source of employee wellbeing and trust. Management Research Review, 43(8), 951–970. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-07-2019-0326

33.

Kuvaas

(2020). Human resource management systems, employee well-being, and firm performance from the mutual gains and critical perspectives: The well-being paradox. Human Resource Management, 59(3), 235–253. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21990

34.

Hon

A. H. Y.

(2016). When will the trickle-down effect of abusive supervision be alleviated? The moderating roles of power distance and traditional cultures. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 57(4), 421–433. https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965515624013

35.

Huang

Peng

(2015). Occupational wellbeing and employee innovative job performance: A multilevel moderated mediation model. Nankai Business Review, 18(2), 15–29. (in Chinese).

36.

Huy

Q. N.

(2012). Emotions in strategic organization: Opportunities for impactful research. Strategic Organization, 10(3), 240–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127012452822

37.

Inceoglu

Arnold

K. A.

Leroy

Lang

J. W. B.

Stephan

(2021). From microscopic to macroscopic perspectives and back: The study of leadership and health/well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 26(6), 459–468. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000316

38.

Johns

(2006). The essential impact of context on organizational behavior. Academy of Management Review, 31(2), 386–408. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2006.20208687

39.

Kauppila

O.-P.

Ehrnrooth

Mäkelä

Smale

Sumelius

Vuorenmaa

(2022). Serving to help and helping to serve: Using servant leadership to influence beyond supervisory relationships. Journal of Management, 48(3), 764–790. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206321994173

40.

Kim

Lim

D. S.

(2019). The trickle-down effect of transformational leadership: Exploring the mediating and moderating mechanisms. The Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 40(2), 203–216. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-09-2018-0344

41.

Kuvaas

Dysvik

Buch

(2014). Antecedents and employee outcomes of line managers' perceptions of enabling HR practices. Journal of Management Studies, 51(7), 845–868. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12085

42.

Lawson

K. J.

Noblet

A. J.

Rodwell

J. J.

(2009). Promoting employee wellbeing: The relevance of work characteristics and organizational justice. Health Promotion International, 24(3), 223–233. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dap025

43.

Lin

Ling

(2021). The role of top-level supportive leadership: A multilevel, trickle-down, moderating effects test in Chinese hospitality and tourism firms. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 46, 104–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.11.013

44.

Liu

Liao

Loi

(2012). The dark side of leadership: A three-level investigation of the cascading effect of abusive supervision on employee creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 55(5), 1187–1212. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.0400

45.

Liu

Chow

H. S.

Gong

Wang

(2019). Mediating links between HRM bundle and individual innovative behavior. Journal of Management and Organization, 25(1), 157–172. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2016.47

46.

Liu

Chiang

T. J.

(2015). Selfless leader and their selfless follower: The trickle-down effect of leader perceived fairness. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2015(1), 16563. https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2015.16563abstract

47.

Lyubomirsky

King

Diener

(2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131(6), 803–855. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803

48.

Martela

Sheldon

K. M.

(2019). Clarifying the concept of well-being: Psychological need satisfaction as the common core connecting eudaimonic and subjective well-being. Review of General Psychology, 23(4), 458–474. https://doi.org/10.1177/1089268019880886

49.

Masterson

S. S.

(2001). A trickle-down model of organizational justice: Relating employees' and customers' perceptions of and reactions to fairness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(4), 594–604. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.4.594

50.

Mawritz

M. B.

Mayer

D. M.

Hoobler

J. M.

Wayne

S. J.

Marinova

S. V.

(2012). A trickle-down model of abusive supervision. Personnel Psychology, 65(2), 325–357. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2012.01246.x

51.

Maxwell

G. A.

Watson

(2006). Perspectives on line managers in human resource management: Hilton International’s UK hotels. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 17(6), 1152–1170. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585190600697638

52.

Mayer

D. M.

Kuenzi

Greenbaum

Bardes

Salvador

(2009). How low does ethical leadership flow? Test of a trickle-down model. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 108(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2008.04.002

53.

Mehmood

Jabeen

Iftikhar

Yan

Khan

A. N.

AlNahyan

M. T.

Alkindi

H. A.

Alhammadi

B. A.

(2022). Elucidating the effects of organisational practices on innovative work behavior in UAE public sector organisations: The mediating role of employees’ wellbeing. Applied psychology. Health and well-being, 14(3), 715–733. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12343

54.

Moore

Bates

Brierley-Bowers

Taaffe

Clymer

(2012). Well-being and its measurement. Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, 1, 1–3.

55.

T. W. H.

Sorensen

K. L.

Eby

L. T.

(2006). Locus of control at work: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(8), 1057–1087. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.416

56.

Oreg

Berson

(2018). The impact of top leaders’ personalities: The processes through which organizations become reflections of their leaders. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27(4), 241–248. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417748397

57.

A. Y.

Tsui

A. S.

Kinicki

A. J.

Waldman

D. A.

Xiao

Song

L. J.

(2014). Humble chief executive officers’ connections to top management team integration and middle managers’ responses. Administrative Science Quarterly, 59(1), 34–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839213520131

58.

Paralta

Simões

Duarte

A. P.

(2023). Subjective well-being in organizations: Effects of internal ethical context and ethical leadership. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(5), 4451. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054451

59.

Radaelli

Sitton-Kent

(2016). Middle managers and the translation of new ideas in organizations: A review of micro-practices and contingencies. International Journal of Management Reviews, 18(3), 311–332. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12094

60.

Renwick

(2003). HR managers: Guardians of employee wellbeing? Personnel Review, 32(3), 341–359. https://doi.org/10.1108/00483480310467651

61.

Salancik

G. R.

Pfeffer

(1978). A social information processing approach to job attitudes and task design. Administrative Science Quarterly, 23(2), 224–253. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392563

62.

Schimmack

Radhakrishnan

Oishi

Dzokoto

Ahadi

(2002). Culture, personality, and subjective wellbeing: Integrating process models of life satisfaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(4), 582–593. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.4.582

63.

Shamir

(1995). Social distance and charisma: Theoretical notes and an exploratory study. The Leadership Quarterly, 6(1), 19–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/1048-9843(95)90003-9

64.

Shirmohammadi

Beigi

Richardson

(2023). Subjective well-being among blue-collar immigrant employees: A systematic literature review. Human Resource Management Review, 33(1), Article 100914. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2022.100914

65.

Chen

Song

(2018). Antecedents and consequences of employee wellbeing: A meta-analytic review and assessment. Chinese Journal of Management, 15(4), 512–522. (in Chinese).

66.

Côté

Saavedra

(2005). The contagious leader: Impact of the leader's mood on the mood of group members, group affective tone, and group processes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(2), 295–305. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.90.2.295

67.

Taheri

Jami Pour

Asarian

(2019). An exploratory study of subjective well-being in organizations–A mixed method research approach. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 29(4), 435–454. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2018.1547671

68.

Tay

Batz-Barbarich

Yang

L. Q.

Wiese

C. W.

(2023). Well-being: The ultimate criterion for organizational sciences. Journal of Business and Psychology, 38(6), 1141–1157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-023-09908-5

69.

Tepper

B. J.

Taylor

E. C.

(2003). Relationships among supervisors’ and subordinates’ procedural justice perceptions and organizational citizenship behaviors. Academy of Management Journal, 46(1), 97–105. https://doi.org/10.5465/30040679

70.

Warr

(1987). Work, unemployment, and mental health. Oxford University Press.

71.

Weiss

H. M.

Beal

D. J.

(2005). Reflections on affective events theory. In The effect of affect in organizational settings (1, pp. 1–21). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

72.

Weiss

H. M.

Cropanzano

(1996). Affective events theory. Research in Organizational Behavior, 18(1), 1–74.

73.

D. X. H.

Ambrose

M. L.

Schminke

(2015). What drives trickle-down effects? A test of multiple mediation processes. Academy of Management Journal, 58(6), 1848–1868. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2013.0670

74.

D. X. H.

Schminke

Ambrose

M. L.

(2019). Trickle-down, trickle-out, trickle-up, trickle-in, and trickle-around effects: An integrative perspective on indirect social influence phenomena. Journal of Management, 45(6), 2263–2292. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206318812951

75.

Wright

T. A.

Hobfoll

S. E.

(2004). Commitment, psychological wellbeing and job performance: An examination of conservation of resources (COR) theory and job burnout. Journal of Business and Management, 9(4), 389–406. https://doi.org/10.1504/JBM.2004.141118

76.

Xiao

Bjorkman

(2006). High commitment work systems in Chinese organizations: A preliminary measure. Management and Organization Review, 2(3), 403–422. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8784.2006.00049.x

77.

(2013). Human resources management and job wellbeing: Theory and empirical analysis. Science and Technology Management Research, 33(17), 130–135. (in Chinese).

78.

Yan

(2016). The relationship between new generation employees' perceptions of high-performance work system and work-related well-being. Chinese Journal of Management, 13(4), 542–550. (in Chinese).

79.

Yang

(2014). Does ethical leadership lead to happy workers? A study on the impact of ethical leadership, subjective well-being, and life happiness in the Chinese culture. Journal of Business Ethics, 123(3), 513–525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1852-6

80.

Yousaf

Sanders

Yustantio

(2018). High commitment HRM and organizational and occupational turnover intentions: The role of organizational and occupational commitment. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(10), 1661–1682. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2016.1256905

81.

Meng

Cai

(2018). Entrepreneurship and wellbeing: A literature review and prospects. Foreign Economics & Management, 40(8), 30–44. (in Chinese). https://doi.org/10.16538/j.cnki.fem.2018.08.003

82.

Yukl

(2006). Leadership in organizations, 9/e. Pearson Education India.

83.

Yukl

Gordon

Taber

(2002). A hierarchical taxonomy of leadership behavior: Integrating a half century of behavior research. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 9(1), 15–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/107179190200900102

84.

Zhai

Willis

O'Shea

Zhai

Yang

(2013). Big five personality traits, job satisfaction and subjective wellbeing in China. International Journal of Psychology, 48(6), 1099–1108. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207594.2012.732700

85.

Zhang

Long

Mou

Y. I.

(2017). The subordinates will follow the example set by their superiors: A trickle-down model of workplace forgiveness. Journal of Industrial Engineering/ Engineering Management, 31(1), 24. (in Chinese). https://doi.org/10.13587/j.cnki.jieem.2017.01.004

86.

Zhao

Guo

(2019). The trickle-down effects of creative work involvement: The joint moderating effects of proactive personality and leader creativity expectations. Personality and Individual Differences, 142(1), 218–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.05.042

87.

Zhong

Zhang

D. Z.

(2019). Can leader humility enhance employee wellbeing? The mediating role of employee humility. The Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 41(1), 19–36. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-03-2019-0124

88.

Zhou

Hong

Liu

(2013). Internal commitment or external collaboration? The impact of human resource management systems on firm innovation and performance. Human Resource Management, 52(2), 263–288. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21527