Happiness at work and different generational perspectives: an integrative literature review

Research on happiness at work has been considered emerging in the field of people management, becoming relevant and with large space in academic research. There are gaps in the literature on what compose happiness at work and how it can vary between individuals and organizational contexts. Therefore, the present study aimed to map national and international scientific productions that contemplate the happiness at work and different generational perspectives. An integrative literature review was carried out through the electronic databases Scopus, Virtual Library in (BVS), and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). In total, 21 articles were analyzed. The results indicated that Baby Boomers have higher levels of job satisfaction compared to Generation X and Generation Y, and Generation Y prioritizes the balance between personal and professional life, thus seeking more flexible work environments. Furthermore, the scientific scope of the topic is new and is under development in the academic context. This scarcity suggests that in terms of maturity, the interface between happiness at work and different generations is still in its infancy. So, fostering more research on the topic will enable managers to better understand workers and how they perceive happiness at work. This understanding may provide important subsidies for the construction of organizational policies, programs and practices that promote the happiness of multigenerational teams.