A closer look at the work behavior of Gen Z in Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises of developing countries

Document Type : ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Authors

1 Department of Management, Faculty Economics and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia

2 Department of PJJ Management, Faculty Business and Humanities, Universitas Siber Muhammadiyah, Indonesia

Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The management of human resources focusing on workplace happiness is gaining significant attention in the study of organizational behavior, particularly in organizations hiring Gen Z. This generation perceives workplace happiness differently, making the factor crucial in understanding work behavior. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the role of workplace happiness as a mediator between motivation and performance among employees in Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in developing countries.
METHODS: The study adopted a survey design, obtaining data from 186 young workers across 23 MSMEs in developing countries. Path analysis was also used to test the proposed model.
FINDINGS: The first results in this study showed that motivation significantly affected happiness at work with a p-value of 0.000 below the specified significance level of ≤0.005 (5%). The second result also showed that motivation significantly influenced performance with a similar p-value of 0.000. The third result suggested that happiness at work exhibited a significant effect on performance with a p-value threshold. Finally, the study found that happiness at work mediated the relationship between motivation and performance as evidenced by a p-value of 0.000.
CONCLUSION: The study suggested that motivation positively affected happiness at work and further enhanced performance. Additionally, job satisfaction could serve as a mediator between motivation and performance. Cultivating a work environment that prioritizes teamwork, and mutual respect, as well as discourages self-serving behavior could further improve employee happiness, job satisfaction, and overall performance. This improvement would also benefit MSMEs by enhancing work quality and productivity.

Keywords

Subjects

OPEN ACCESS

©2024 The author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit: 

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

PUBLISHER NOTE

Tehran Urban Research & Planning Centre (TURPC) takes a neutral position about claims on disputed territories, place names, international boundaries, jurisdiction in published maps, and institutional affiliations. TURPC is committed to retracting a paper after its publication if it becomes apparent that there are serious problems in its content, in terms of research and publication ethics (https://www.ijhcum.net/journal/process?ethics).

CITATION METRICS & CAPTURES

Google Scholar | DOAJ | Scopus | EBSCO | Internet Archive |Twitter |Mendeley  

CURRENT PUBLISHER

 Tehran Urban Research and Planning Center: Tehran Municipality

Zani, R. M.; Ahmad, I. N.; Saad, S. M., (2022). Happiness At Work Across Generations. Fbm Insights. Carawang Kedah. Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Kedah.
  • Receive Date 20 May 2024
  • Revise Date 09 August 2024
  • Accept Date 20 September 2024