Are employers happy to hire happy candidates? Happiness and Employability Sources

Abstract

The literature demonstrates that while employee happiness has been shown to influence labor productivity, sales, and profits directly, including a happiness statement in an applicant's CV results in increased callback only for men. This paper explores gender-based discrimination through the lens of message design in impression management research, labor market practices, and happiness science. Employing a two-stage field experiment, this study probes the labor market's receptivity to the attribution of happiness responsibility in applicants. CVs with two happiness statements - corporate and personal - were dispatched to 634 job postings in economics, finance, and budgeting. Results from the within-subjects stage indicate that including the corporate happiness responsibility statement significantly elevated the number of callbacks for both genders. Conversely, the between-subjects stage revealed that personal happiness responsibility statements significantly boosted callback rates exclusively for males. These findings are consistent for three business objective factors: company type, location, and years of required experience. Moreover, the results have practical implications for both job seekers and employers in various industries.