THE INFLUENCE OF WORKPLACE HAPPINESS ON ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT OF GENERATION Y EMPLOYEES IN A LARGE DEPARTMENT STORE IN PHRA NAKHON SI AYUTTHAYA PROVINCE

Abstract

This study aimed to (1) examine the levels of workplace happiness and organizational commitment and (2) investigate the influence of workplace happiness factors on organizational commitment among Generation Y employees in a large department store in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province. A quantitative research design was employed. Data were collected from the entire population of 167 employees using a seven-point Likert scale questionnaire. The instrument demonstrated acceptable content validity (IOC = 0.67–1.00) and high reliability, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.929 to 0.941. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that overall workplace happiness was at a high level, while organizational commitment was at the highest level. The regression model was statistically significant (F = 54.93, p < .001) and explained 69.5% of the variance in organizational commitment (Adjusted R² = 0.695). Significant positive predictors included job responsibility (β = 0.43), work environment (β = 0.33), career advancement and job security (β = 0.20), and coworker relationships (β = 0.17). In contrast, job achievement had a significant negative effect (β = −0.19), while job characteristics and recognition were not statistically significant. These findings suggest that workplace happiness does not uniformly enhance organizational commitment in a retail context. In particular, job achievement may become a source of performance pressure due to quantitatively driven targets. Therefore, organizations should redesign performance management systems by balancing outcome-based and developmental performance indicators to reduce accumulated pressure and enhance long-term employee commitment.