STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODEL OF EMOTIONAL WAGE ON JOB HAPPINESS AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: A CASE STUDY OF AN AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING COMPANY LOCATED IN THE LAEM CHABANG INDUSTRY, CHONBURI

Main Article Content

Teepa Kralam
Rutcharin Kullachart

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the level and analyze the influence of emotional wage using structural equation modeling on job happiness and employee performance. The study was conducted as a case study at an automobile manufacturing company located in the Laem Chabang Industrial Estate, Chonburi Province. A quantitative research methodology was employed, and data were collected through online questionnaires from a sample of 300 production employees. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM) with AMOS software. The results indicated that the components of emotional wage consisted of environment, development and flexibility. Job happiness comprised positive relationships, love of work and achievement and recognition. Job performance included functional, adaptive, and contextual performance. The hypothesis testing results revealed that emotional wage had a statistically significant positive direct effect on job happiness (equation = 0.893) and explained 79.8% of the variance in job happiness. Job happiness also had a statistically significant positive direct effect on job performance (equation = 1.413). However, emotional wage showed a negative direct effect on job performance (equation = −0.563) when controlling for the effect of job happiness. Nevertheless, when considering the total effect, the influence was positive (0.699), indicating that job happiness functioned as a full mediating variable. In conclusion, emotional wage is an important factor in promoting employee happiness and serves as a key mechanism driving employee performance in the automotive industry. Therefore, organizations should emphasize the creation of a psychologically supportive work environment and provide opportunities that foster sustainable employee performance.

Article Details

How to Cite
Kralam, T. ., & Kullachart, R. (2026). STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODEL OF EMOTIONAL WAGE ON JOB HAPPINESS AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: A CASE STUDY OF AN AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING COMPANY LOCATED IN THE LAEM CHABANG INDUSTRY, CHONBURI. Journal of MCU Nakhondhat, 13(4), 306–315. retrieved from https://so03.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JMND/article/view/299497
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Research Articles

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