Positive Work: A Multidimensional Overview and Analysis of Work-Related Drivers of Wellbeing

Abstract

Scholars are beginning to better appreciate the wide range of work-related ‘drivers’ of wellbeing (i.e., the ways in which work may promote or hinder employees’ wellbeing). This paper brings a multidimensional perspective to bear on this topic by providing a multidimensional overview of these drivers, together with an analysis of how they may actually ‘drive’ wellbeing. The paper is in two parts. Part 1 briefly summarises the drivers, highlighting key theories and interventions. Part 2 then brings a multidimensional analysis to bear on the drivers, doing so by focusing on one driver in particular (‘managing emotions’) as a case study. This driver is analysed through the prism of a multidimensional model of the person (the Layered Integrated Framework Example). It is hoped that, in future, similar analyses can consequently be undertaken for the other drivers. The paper therefore offers a generative research agenda for exploring how to better enable people to flourish at work.