Twenty-five years of research on employee well-being: a systematic literature review and future research agenda

Purpose In recent years, employee well-being (EWB) has garnered academicians’, employers’ and policymakers’ interest due to its importance in enhancing employees’ and organisational performance. Despite its importance, the field lacks comprehensive review-based studies. Ergo, the present study strives to map the academic knowledge in the field using a theory-context-characteristics-methodology (TCCM) framework supplemented with bibliometric analysis. Additionally, this study aims to propose future research agendas to guide further investigation in the field. Design/methodology/approach The present study reviews 199 papers published between 2000 and 2024 retrieved from the Scopus database. It uses bibliometric analysis to present the publication trends, most prolific journals, authors and papers. Using the TCCM approach, the study delineates the theories, context, characteristics and methodologies used in EWB research. Findings The study’s outcomes reveal that diverse theories are applied in EWB research, with the job demand-resource theory being the most frequently used theoretical framework. Most of the studies are conducted in the education and health-care sectors. With respect to countries, the UK dominates the EWB research. Regarding variables, leadership and HR practices are the most prominent predictors, and performance and satisfaction are the most significant outcomes of EWB. Moreover, the study reveals that the quantitative approach dominates the EWB research. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to map the academic knowledge on EWB using a blend of the TCCM framework and bibliometric analysis. Moreover, the study provides unique research directions in terms of TCCM that future scholars can use to enrich the field and investigate the nuances of EWB.