Well-being HRM and organizational citizenship behavior: the roles of employee happiness and engaging leadership

Purpose This study examines how well-being-oriented human resource management (WBHRM) practices influence organizational citizenship behavior, with employee happiness as a mediator. It further evaluates the moderating role of engaging leadership in the WBHRM–happiness relationship. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained from employees in the textile sector using a stratified sampling technique. The final sample included 305 usable responses from three major cities in Pakistan: Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad. Structural equation modeling (SEM) using AMOS 21.0 was employed to test the study hypotheses. Findings Results indicate that WBHRM practices significantly enhance employee happiness and organizational citizenship behavior. Happiness at work partially mediates the relationship between WBHRM practices and organizational citizenship behavior. Engaging leadership also exerts a significant moderating effect; however, the interaction reveals that the positive influence of WBHRM on workplace happiness is stronger when engaging leadership is low. Originality/value The study contributes new insights into HRM and leadership literature by jointly examining employee happiness as a mediator and engaging leadership as a contextual moderator. Focusing on Pakistan's textile industry, it offers context-specific evidence from a developing economy where empirical research on WBHRM and happiness at work remains limited.