Joy in the Workplace: A Scoping Review of Positive Emotion and Electroencephalogram

Abstract

A workplace that is a conduit for positive emotions can be important to employees retention and can contribute optimal levels of productivity. Validated tools for examining emotions are primarily subjective and retrospective in nature. Recent advances in technology have led to more novel and passive ways of measuring emotions. Wearable sensors, such as electroencephalogram (EEG), are being explored to assess cognitive and physical burdens objectively and in real-time. Therefore, there exists a need to investigate and validate the use of EEG to examine emotions objectively and in real-time. In this paper, we conducted a scoping review of EEG to measure positive emotions and/or indicators of joy in the workplace. Our review results in 22 articles that employ EEG to study joy in occupational settings. Three major themes identified in the analysis include (1) EEG for symptoms detection and outcomes, (2) Populations studied using EEG, and (3) EEG electrode systems.