Employee Psychological Well-Being: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This systematic literature review seeks to make sense of the results of 37 peer-reviewed open-access empirical studies published from 2015-2025 exploring the multivariate determinants of employee psychological well-being. The review classifies main influences into organizational, relational, and individual levels, including leadership types (ethical and transformational leadership (TLS), communication mechanisms, organizational climate, psychological resources, work-family balance, and stressors due to the pandemic. Based on studies sourced exclusively from Google Scholar, this review explores the methodological diversity of previous research and consistently identifies psychological well-being as the mediating element in relation to performance, engagement, and job satisfaction. While methodological variety and small database coverage limited the findings, they underlined the pivotal role of work environments and employer behaviours in determining employee mental health. The review is informative to psychological research and HR (Human Resources) practice in cultivating sustainable mentally healthy workplaces and advances potential research directions in coping workplace challenges on the horizon.