The main objective of the study is to investigate the influence of perceived organizational support, organizational environment, national culture, organizational socialization, psychological capital, and organizational commitment on the organizational happiness of public schools in Punjab, Pakistan. The data from 376 responses were analyzed using SmartPLS to draw the study results. The study findings revealed that the positive relationship between organizational climate, organizational commitment, organizational socialization, perceived organizational support, and organizational happiness. On the other hand, organizational commitment found a mediatory role between the organizational climate, perceived organizational support, psychological capital, and organizational happiness. The findings of the study are useful for policymakers and the management of public schools in Pakistan.
Top1. Introduction
In recent years, happiness has evolved as a term in media and public discourse, as well as an object of inquiry in a variety of professions, ranging from economics and management to marketing, psychology, and sociology. In addition, happiness has become a topic of study in many fields (Kustiawan et al., 2022; Ravina-Ripoll et al., 2021). According to Guilherme and Freitas (2017), happiness education has received significant attention in recent years in educational discourse. This attention has been given not only in the academic world but also in the public realm. This movement recognizes that there is a common occurrence of psychological injury caused by damage to students’ sense of self-worth, and they are working to find a solution to this problem. Scholars from a wide variety of disciplines have begun to investigate what is now referred to as “happy studies” as a topic with clear boundaries and a specific set of internal mechanics, one that can be measured, applied, and repeated to improve human behavior (Kustiawan et al., 2022; Gyeltshen & Beri, 2019; Binkley 2011).
Students can learn etiquette, build important social connections, improve their personal potential, and enhance their social and emotional competencies by supervising management at universities, which are vital learning environments that provide them with these opportunities (Kaur & Sharma, 2021; Zembylas, 2020; López-Pérez & Fernández-Castilla, 2018). Frameworks that promote happiness as well as social and emotional competence have been designed and implemented in a number of developed nations, including the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Hong Kong, and Australia. University students and lecturers are involved in these efforts (Miller & Freitas, 2022; Badri et al., 2018; Yoder, 2014). However, there is no well-defined happiness framework in place in Pakistan to promote the social and emotional competence of university students, particularly those in the socioeconomically disadvantaged sections of the country. As a result, an increasing number of researchers and educators have called for immediate focus on the social and emotional aspects of student development beyond academic mastery. This was done in the hope of preventing serious psychopathological challenges in the future that could be encountered by both students and organizations.