The Relationship Between Happiness and Work: An Exploratory Study with Active and Retired Professionals

From the Positive Organizational Psychology, the studies of the organizations have been exploring subjects related to the subjectivity of the employees and their relation with the results of the companies. In this theoretical perspective, this research chose the themes Work and Happiness with the objective of identifying the relationship between these two concepts in the perspective of the workers. Through the qualitative - exploratory approach, with open and semi – structured questionnaire, twelve people, men and women, aged between 30 and 65 years old were interview. The sample consisted of six retired workers and six active workers, with at least 10 years of professional practice in the private sector. The analysis of the interviews was performed using the Content Analysis method. The conclusions are that respondents understand Work and Happiness from a perspective of personal fulfillment and mission of life. Those who have assessed their lives as happy relate their work life as a source of personal fulfillment and sense of existence. The results expressed a connectivity relation between the concepts of Happiness and Work, indicating interdependence between them.