Investigating the state of the art on work-life balance and happiness in the classroom

Abstract

Work-life balance (WLB) and happiness in the classroom are two crucial topics challenging institutions in Higher Education, because of many students at universities are facing high levels of stress, in line of work demands. Moreover, the growth of the virtual learning at universities over the past decades is one of the most widely used examples to understand how the recent evolution of technology in all manner of devices has caused the implementation of the Positive Psychology in the classroom, which in turn demands changes in teaching practice and theory.

The primary purpose of this study was to highlight the current state of the art on WLB, satisfaction and happiness in the classroom in Higher Education by conducting a bibliographic review of published research and papers in the last two decades. In this research, the findings reveal a significant growth in publications on those topics, defining some prominent niches for future research purposes. For this reason, this paper contributes to the current literature by providing a comprehensive approach in education, which helps to define the most relevant topics and used terms in this field of knowledge.