Adaptive Leadership and Organizational Culture: Workplace Happiness as a Bridge to Generation Z Employee Performance—A Conceptual Analysis

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-811-5_33How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Adaptive Leadership; Generation Z Performance; Organizational Culture; Workplace Happiness

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to provide a theoretical framework for understanding how Gen Z workers’ levels workplace happiness the effect of adaptive leadership and company culture on their ability to adjust to new situations. In order to analyse the dynamics of employee well-being and performance, the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory is utilised. This theory classifies job demands and resources. This study lays the theoretical groundwork for future empirical testing by synthesising previous material through a conceptual review technique, which also maps research gaps. Findings suggest that leadership and organisational culture do have an impact on performance, but that there needs to be psychological mediating mechanisms for these effects to be successful due to empirical discrepancies. Thus, according to this theoretical framework, adaptive leadership and organisational culture positively affect Generation Z’s adaptable performance, both immediately and indirectly via elevated workplace happiness. In order to tackle the issue of “quiet quitting” and the high expectations for work-life balance among this demographic, this study presents workplace happiness as a crucial link. To put it into practice, this framework helps businesses plan for leadership support and an environment that promotes mental health and decreases the intention to “quiet quit.”

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Reva Noor Azizah
AU  - Kusuma Chandra Kirana
AU  - Henny Welsa
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/29
TI  - Adaptive Leadership and Organizational Culture: Workplace Happiness as a Bridge to Generation Z Employee Performance—A Conceptual Analysis
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Business, Economic, and Social Sustainability (ICOBES 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 411
EP  - 425
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-811-5_33
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-811-5_33
ID  - Azizah2026
ER  -