Research at Bond

Current Research Projects

The Pursuit of Happiness in the Workplace

Life is full of ups and downs, and this is true in the workplace too. Whether or not someone is generally satisfied with their job, they will experience moments of both pleasant and unpleasant emotions while working. They encounter hassles that cause momentary negative emotions and uplifts that make them feel good for a short while. These short-term fluctuations in feelings while working have been largely ignored in previous research.

Professor of Management, Professor Cynthia Fisher, has recently completed a ten-year study of short-term emotional experiences in the workplace.

Using a research methodology known as ‘experience sampling’, she asked 121 volunteers to wear specially programmed alarm watches to obtain real-time reports of mood, emotions and activities while working.

“The alarm rang at random intervals five times each work day for ten days,” Professor Fisher explained.

“At each signal, the participants would report their positive and negative emotions, as well as their effort, interest, task difficulty, skill and performance on the task they were working on at the moment.

“From this assignment and two longer questionnaires, we were able to compile valuable data on how our momentary emotions relate to overall job satisfaction, how they correlate with job performance and other aspects on the momentary work environment, and why some people have more moments of positive emotions while working.”

According to Professor Fisher, one of the most interesting aspects to come out of the study is an insight into why managers and lay people persistently believe that satisfied employees are more productive.

“Half a century of research shows that this is simply not true. The relationship between job satisfaction and productivity across people is very weak, yet 96% of students and managers believe that satisfied employees are more productive. However, there is little reason to believe that Harry will be a better performer than Sally because Harry likes his job better.

“My research suggests that belief in this urban myth is based on the existence of a momentary relationship between short term emotions and concurrent performance that occurs over time within each person. Individuals do in fact feel better than usual at moments when they believe they are performing better than usual.”

Professor Fisher’s research will have significant implications for the design of work environments to maximise effort, performance and positive emotional experiences on the job.

“There is much more to be learned about how individuals experience work from moment to moment and how they make decisions to work harder or less hard through the course of the work day.”

Key Project Team Members

  • Professor Cynthia D. Fisher - Bond University

Funding Sources

Contact:

Professor Cynthia D. Fisher

School of Business
Faculty of Business, Technolgy & Sustainable Development
BOND UNIVERSITY QLD 4229
AUSTRALIA

Phone: +61 7 5595 2215
Email: cynthia_fisher@bond.edu.au