Work resources and civic engagement: Benefits to employee physical and mental health

Research has demonstrated that people can function better when they participate in bothwork and non-work roles. Drawing onthis premise, this paper examines the combined effects of positivework and non-work experiences–measured by perceptions of acquiring valuable resources at work and engagement in civic activities–on happiness and health. Using a representative sample of 10,331 people in China, we demonstrate that civic engagement and work resources enhance people's perception of happiness and that this, in turn, is conducive to greater mental and physical health. We also found that the association between civic engagement and happiness is moderated by income such that the association is positive for people with either low or high income, whereas there is no association formiddle or upper-middle income. There is negative association between work resources and happiness formiddle level income, but no associationwas found for other levels of income. Implications for theory and practice are discussed