SO AS TO ACHIEVE HAPPINESS FOR OUR WORKPLACE - STUDYING THE PERMA ELEMENTS' PREDICTION OF SUBJECTIVE HAPPINESS AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS IN SINGAPORE'S WORKPLACE

Abstract

As Singapore awaits better workplace well-being, there is little research on Singapore’s workplace well-being and little research applying the comprehensive PERMA theory of general well-being to the workplace to guide practices. This study aimed to investigate how PERMA theory applies to Singapore’s workplace – especially how the PERMA elements predict holistic workplace well-being (positive well-being and ill-being). 151 participants from Singapore’s Small and Medium Enterprises completed online questionnaires measuring the PERMA elements, subjective happiness (SH) and negative emotions during a stressful situation (NEDS). As hypothesised, PERMA elements correlated positively with each other while SH and NEDS correlated moderately negatively. Against hypotheses, in hierarchical multiple regressions, controlling for age, only P (Positive affect) and R (positive Relationships) predicted SH significantly positively and only P predicted NEDS significantly negatively. Overall, the PERMA elements predicted SH substantially and had weaker but unignorable contributions to NEDS. For Singapore’s workplace practices, findings revealed key predictors of SH and NEDS and support the importance of managing both positive well-being and ill-being. For PERMA literature, findings show PERMA theory’s relationship with ill-being, the PERMA elements’ unequal importance for SH and NEDS, and the importance of studying the PERMA elements together rather than separately for a more nuanced understanding.