The Study of Working Engagement and Working Environment towards Job Happiness in the Malaysian Hotel Industry

: This paper presents a study on work engagement and working environment towards job happiness among 3 to 5 stars hotel employees in Penang. The main purpose of the study is to broaden and deepen the understanding of job happiness among hotel employees especially within the hospitality industry in Malaysia. Working engagement can be defined as when an employee feels strongly engaged with the organization due to several reasons. The work place, surrounding, company system, policies, structure and procedure is called working environment. Job happiness is an essential aspect to any organization, because it impacting employee job performance, job satisfaction and job productivity. In this research stratified sampling was employ and of total number of 370 questionnaires were distributed via online, as a result 280 usable questionnaires were successfully gathered with the return rate of 75.6 percent. The raw data were analysed by using linear regressions. To conclude, it can be proposed that this research will benefit the practitioner, academician and researcher for the purpose of daily operation and future research. In conclusion, this study further confirmed that working engagement, working environment and job happiness was proven to have a strong relationship.


INTRODUCTION
The study of work environment, work engagement and job happiness were known to be highly discussed theme by many scholars in the field of organizational behaviour. The consequences of neglecting employee job happiness are believed to decrease in productivity, wasted resources and creates toxic working environment (Morgan, 2014;Sadick & Kamardeen, 2020). Based on the review of the literature 48% of Malaysians workers experienced a chronic stress level. The Public Services Department (PSD) reported that high stress level will continue to haunt Malaysian employees (government or private sector) because it has negative effect to employees in the long run and it must be avoided at all cost (Rasli, Johari, Muslim & Romle, 2017). A happy employee prefers to work within a stress-free working environment and job happiness is known to be the core to employee job performance beside technology, work systems, reputation and the image of the company (Rego & Cunha, 2008;Merga & Fufa, 2019). In order to win the customer's heart, organizations need to adopt a strategy focussing on employee happiness (Sun & Bunchapattanasakda, 2019). The hotel industry is known to be competitive and labour intensive as Xiang, Scwartz, Gerdes and Uysal (2015) asserted that the of a hotel's performance is measured through the level of guest satisfaction and recent study by Guerreiro and Rita (2020) postulated that happy customers as a result become loyal customer, he added that in order to gain customer satisfaction and customer loyalty the organization must allocate some resources and concern towards employee needs and wants (well-being). Employees that is happy at work gained three benefits: a) high performance, b) job efficiency and c) job effectiveness (Golparvar & Abedini, 2014;Mensah & Ampofo, 2020). Other issue that arises in the Malaysian Hotel Industry is employee turnover and job happiness is known to be the remedy in retaining excellent employee (Rook, 2011; Rasheed, Okumus, Weng, Hameed & Nawaz, 2020; Hwang, Hong, Tai, Chen & Gouldthorp, 2020). Previous studies revealed that working engagement, working environment and job happiness is positively related (Rasli, et. al., 2017; Yilmaz, Psychogiou, Javaid, Ford and Dunn, 2019; Bastos & Barsade, 2020; Yap & Badri, 2020; Lozano & Auro, 2021). The study is conducted in order to extend and expand the understanding of job happiness issues especially within the hospitality industry in Malaysia. towards achieving organizational objectives and goals (Shinkle, et. al., 2021). Previous studies have confirmed that leadership positively influence employee's job happiness (Rasli, et al., 2017;Sadick & Kamardeen, 2020;Halim et. al., 2021). One study revealed that leadership is earned for over a period of time (experience) and it could not be simply achieved without experience, painstaking effort and hardwork by someone (Saddick and Kamardeen, 2020). The sense of camaraderie is another element that foster job happiness among employee (Halim, et. al., 2021).

Job Happiness
Employee's turnover rates continue to rise in many organizations around the world and it inevitable, this is due to several problems such as employee dissatisfaction, abuse of power by the managers, inappropriate treatment by the company, sexual harassment and unfair compensation, previous studies have reported that in many circumstances the majority of service organization tend to focus on profit, however, neglecting employee welfare (Al Ali, Ameen, Isaac, Habtoor, Mohamed and Al Rajawi, 2018: Lozano & Auro, 2021). The hospitality industry was known to experience a high percentage of employee turnover (Rasheed, et. al., 2020). It was suggested that to get the best out of the employees, managers were strongly advised to make sure that their employee is happy at all time and a good manager should possess a good sense of humour and this type of manager is known to be the favourite among employees (Yilmaz, et. al., 2019). A classic literature by Berry and Parasuraman (1991) stressed that in order to make sure that the customer is happy and delighted the organization have to make sure that their employees are happy too, in other words a happy employee makes happy customer. The concept of well-being is identical with the word happiness (Satuf, Monteiro, Pereira, Esgalhado, Afonso & Loureiro, 2018). Job happiness is also defined as employee responds positively and delighted to what they have to perform at work (Chaiprasit & Santidhiraku, 201;Rasli, et al., 2017). Overall, happiness at work is the combination of positive emotions at work, constructive vibe, affection and mood that the employees enjoy when executing their job. When an employee is happy and has reached their highest potential in their career and personal life, it was believed that personal selfactualization is achieved (Sousa & Porto, 2015; Asadullah, Ul Haq, Wahba, Hashmi, Kim and Hwang, 2021). To conclude, past studies have revealed that job happiness has the ability to be used as an effective instrument to bridge the gap between variables in managing human resources.

METHODOLOGY
In this study a quantitative approach is adopted and a stratified sampling is used as a sampling method. A total number of 370 questionnaires were deployed with the return rate of 78.6% ranging from 3 to 5 stars hotel in Penang Malaysia. Penang is chosen as the sample location due the number of hotels that is sufficient to support this study. Penang also known to be among the best tourist destination for domestic and international tourist in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. A pre-test, pilot test, reliability and validity analysis were conducted to test the consistency of each item (questions) and a simple linear regression analysis is adopted to test the relationships between the identified variables. The questionnaire was divided into four (4) important section. Section A: a construct on job happiness (10 items) by Demo and Paschoal (2016), Section B: a construct on work engagement (15 items) by Schaufeli et al, (2006), Section C: a construct on working environment (14 items) developed by State Statistical Office (2009) and Section D is the demographic information of the respondents.  4. My work made me feel proud. 5 5. I achieve my potential. 6 6. I develop abilities that I consider important. 7 7. I engage in activities that express my skills. 8 8. I overcome challenges. 9 9. I achieve results that I regard as valuable. 10   When I am working, I forget everything else around me 7 My job inspires me 8 When I get up in the morning, I feel like going to work. 9 I feel happy when I am working intensely. 10 I am proud of the work that I do. 11 I am immersed in my work. 12 I can continue working for very long periods at a time. 13 To me, my job is challenging. 14 It is difficult to detach myself from my job. 15 At my work, I always persevere, even when things do not go well. The management skills of the immediate supervisors/managers are good. 2 The management skills of the Executive Body are good. 3 The overall management skills of top management in the hotel are good in general. 4 I am a competent employee in general. 5 I am content with the training opportunities in general. 6 Overall, my esteem needs are fulfilled. 7 I am content with the physical working conditions as a whole. (Physical working place) 8 I am content with the current remuneration in the hotel as a whole. (salary & overtime) 9 I am content with my current job safety and security conditions in general. 10 My co-workers and I have a good sense of teamwork. 11 I have good relationships with my co-workers in general. 12 I am content with the workload pressure in general. (i.e., working hours & hours & number of tasks to be done). 13 There is a good balance between personal and professional life for me. 14 I am content with my current working hours in general. The total number of respondents who have agreed to participate in this study is 280 and they were from 3 to 5 stars hotel in Penang. In this study female respondents represents 55% (154 persons) out of the total number of respondents, while the male respondents are at 45% (126 persons). 100.0

Total 280
There are five age group that was identified in this study. The first group represents respondents from the age of 18 to 20 years old with a total of 9 persons at 3.2%. The second group includes respondents from 21 to 30 years old with a total of 194 persons at 69.3% and it shows that this age group dominated the total number of respondents in this research. Moving into the third group of age of 31 to 40, they represent 24.6% (69 persons). The age group above 41 to 50 years old represents 2.1% with 6 persons while the last group that has the smallest number of respondents accounts to 0.7% (2 persons). The group age of 50 years old and above was found to be the lowest number of respondents in this study. In this analysis, single person records the highest number of respondents represents 60.4 percent from the total number of respondents followed by married couples which accounts to 38.9 percent. Separated and divorce respondents each represents 4 percent each. Total respondents from 5-star hotels represents 20.7% signifies the lowest rate of return and the respondents that has the experience staying in the 4-star hotel was found to be the majority in the sample selection represents 46.1 percent. The percentage of guest that has the experience stays at 3-star hotels in this sample is 33.2 percent. agree to questions they have been asked. Only one item that is V3 recorded the lowest of 3 while the rest of the items score at 4 for median. Judging from the results, it can be postulated that V3 depicts the lowest score for means and standard deviation for 5 items. The highest mean score among the dedication items is the D4 at 4.289 with standard deviation score of 1.0465 this is in contrast D2 with 3.721 mean with standard deviation of 1.2067. All of the items of dedication score range from 4 to 5 for mode, indicating that they either agree or very agree to the questions they have been asked. In the median score however, only one item that is D4 scored the highest point of 5 while the rest of the items score at 4. From the results, it can be concluded that D4 represents the highest score of the 5 items offered in this variable (dedication). The highest mean score among the absorption items is the A1 at 4.325 with standard deviation score of 1.022 while the vice versa results from A3 as 3.35 mean with standard deviation of 1.0536. All of the items of absorption score range from 4 to 5 for mode, indicating that they either agree or very agree that these items are the elements of absorption. The median score however, only one item that is A1 has the highest of 5 while the rest of the items score at 4. Judging from the results, it can be concluded that A1 portrays the best among all of the 5 items when it comes to absorption as the employees feel that time flies when they are working. The highest mean score among the working hours items is theWH1 at 3.668 with standard deviation score of 1.0162 while the vice versa results from WH2 as 3.032 mean with standard deviation of 1.0451. All of the items of working hours score range from 3 to 4 for mode, indicating that they are either neutral or agree that these items are the elements of working hours. The median score however, only one item that isWH1 has the highest of 4 while the rest of the items score at 3. Judging from the results, it can be The highest mean score among the job safety and security items is the JSS1 at 4.039 with standard deviation score of 1.0652 while the vice versa results from JSS2 as 3.454 mean with standard deviation of 1.1318. All of the items of job safety and security score range from 4 to 5 for mode, indicating that they either agree or very agree to these items are the elements of job safety and security. The median scores this time, applies exactly the same to all of the items for job safety and security at 4. Judging from the results, it can be concluded that JSS1 portrays the best among all of the 3 items when it comes to job safety and security as in the employees feel content with the physical working conditions as a whole, (e.g., physical working place). The highest mean score among the relationship with co-workers' items is the RW2 at 4.168 with standard deviation score of 0.9562 while the lowest results from RW1 as 4.136 mean with standard deviation of 0.9482. Both items of relationship with coworkers score range from 4 to 5 for mode, indicating that they are either agree or very agree to these items are the elements of relationship with co-workers. The median scores this time, applies exactly the same to all of the items for relationship with coworkers of 4. Judging from the results, it can be concluded that RW2 portrays the better when it comes to relationships with coworkers as in the employees have good relationships between their co-workers in general. The highest mean score among the esteem needs items is the EN1 at 3.804 with standard deviation score of 1.0057 while the vice versa results from EN2 as 3.491 mean with standard deviation of 1.0788. All of the items of esteem need score 4, indicating that they agree to these items are the elements of esteem needs. The median score again, applies exactly the same to all of the items for esteem needs at 4. Judging from the results, it can be concluded that EN11 portrays the best among all of the 3 items when it comes to esteem needs as in the employees feel they are competent employees in general. The highest mean score among the top management items is the TM1 at 3.950 with standard deviation score of 1.1873 while the vice versa results from TM3 as 3.663 mean with standard deviation of 1.2756. All of the items of top management score range from 4 to 5 for mode, indicating that they either agree or very agree to these items are the elements of top management. The median scores this time, applies exactly the same to all of the items for top management at 4. Judging from the results, it can be concluded that TM1 portrays the best among all of the 3 items when it comes to top management as the employees feel the management skills of the immediate supervisors/managers are good. The highest mean score among the job happiness items is the Actv_Skill at 4.579 with standard deviation score of 0.6620 while the vice versa comes from Enthusiastic as 3.568 mean with standard deviation of 1.2193. All of the items of job happiness score range from 4 to 5 for mode, indicating that they agree and very agree that these items are the elements of job happiness. The median score however, only one item that is Actv_Skill has the highest of 5 while the rest of the items score at 4. Judging from the results, it can be concluded that Actv_Skill portrays the best among all of the 14 items when it comes to job happiness as the employees engage in activities that express their skills. The rest of the items seem to fit in the category the employees agree and very agree that they belong in the job happiness element.  For the first proposed hypothesis of H1, all 15 items of work engagement were computed into one score to determine its overall significance towards job happiness. The p-value is 0.000 while α-value is 0.05. This indicates that p-value < α-value thus, the proposed hypothesis is significant, to which there is a relationship between work engagement towards job happiness. According to the R2's score, or as it is also known as the coefficient of determination, 86% variation of job happiness is explained by the variation of work engagement. Meanwhile R, the correlation coefficient scores at 0.928, shows that work engagement and job happiness have a strong positive relationship. Moving onto the coefficient analysis, apparently the score of B is 0.803, by summary of work engagement. B indicates the slope of the regression line and it predicts how much the dependent variable will change if the independent variable increases. From the table above, it shows that if the work engagement score increases by 1, the job happiness score will increase by 0.803.  For the second proposed hypothesis of H2, all 14 items of working environments were computed into one score to determine its overall significance towards job happiness. The p-value is 0.000 while α-value is 0.05. This indicates that p-value < α-value thus, the proposed hypothesis is significant, to which there is a relationship between working environments towards job happiness.

H2: There is a relationship between working environment towards job happiness
According to the R2's score, or as it is also known as the coefficient of determination, 83.8% variation of job happiness is explained by the variation of working environments. Meanwhile R, the correlation coefficient scores at 0.916, shows that working environments and job happiness also have a strong positive relationship. Moving onto the coefficient analysis, apparently the score of B is 0.765, by summary of working environments. B indicates the slope of the regression line and it predicts how much the dependent variable will change if the independent variable increases. From the table above, it shows that if the working environment score increases by 1, the job happiness score will increase by 0.765. There is a positive relationship between working environment and job happiness. Based on the analysis it was found that working environment and job happiness also share a significant relationship in a positive manner, with the results of β = 0.765, p < 0.05. Therefore, the second hypothesis is also supported. Yap and Badri (2020) study also share the same findings where working environment being one of the important antecedents to employee job happiness.

Discussions
In a study conducted by Guan (2021) posited that employees who achieved the significant level of job happiness tend to be effective, productive and motivated. Notwithstanding, it is clear that employee job happiness is considered to be important, aspect in organization. Some recommendations from this study appear to be important, firstly, the organization should consider to nurture a positive character among employees so that they can attain job happiness as this is based on the study conducted. When the employees have a positive mind-set and feelings, they tend to be more productive and contented at the workplace (Fogaça & Coelho, 2016). In order to develop positive work engagement among employees, the employers should consider the antecedents of vigor, dedication and absorption in their daily operation. Through continuous training and long-life learning, the employees could understand what it means to be an engaged employee and how it can assist them to perform better. Excellent top management characteristics are an exemplary to assist in developing highly committed employees. Hotel organizations are suggested to consider reconstructing their organizational practices as it will benefit the employees and the organization in a long term. The working environment plays a crucial part in creating employee's job happiness among hotel employees. A good practice such as benchmarking is good to a service organization as this will uplift the quality and morale of employees. The strategies suggested has the capacity to assist hospitality organization to unleash the potential within the employees. The sense of self-belonging should be created through a positive relationship between employee to employee and employee to employer (vertical and horizontal relationship), appreciating the employee and assisting them to perform better is a key to organization success. When the employee is delighted, it will benefit the organization in two ways, first towards the company profit and second the reputation of the organization. Notwithstanding, happy employees create greater long-term customer's relationships, customer's satisfaction and as a result creating a customer that is loyal to organization.

CONCLUSION
To sum up, this study has successfully answered two (2) main research question. The first limitation that the researcher has to undergo was the research time frame, given the period of 6 months, the researcher was not able to obtain a bigger sample as reaching out for 3-to-5-star hotel employees was tough and it was not an easy task. Besides that, mobility and monetary were also the