Background and Aims: Malaysia's first Movement Control Order (MCO) or “lockdown” was in place for 6 weeks to curb the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Consequently, all universities were forced to close temporarily with abrupt changes to teaching and learning activities. However, there has been a lack of consensus regarding students' actual psychological status and mental health during the MCO implementation. This study investigates the link, state, and differences of negative emotional symptoms, happiness, and work-life balance among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methodology: This study recruited 1,005 university students across Malaysia. Data was collected online using Qualtrics to measure negative emotional symptoms (The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale), happiness (The Oxford Happiness Inventory), and work-life balance (Work-Family Conflict Scale). All data was analyzed using SPSS version 25 and AMOS version 26 using T-test, ANOVA, logistic regression analyses, and path analysis method.Findings: Findings indicated that 22, 34.3, and 37.3% of the university students scored moderate to extremely severe levels of stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms, respectively. Half scored rather happy or very happy (50%) for happiness levels. Meanwhile, 50.4 and 39.4% scored high to very high levels of work-to-family and family-to-work conflict. Significant differences in stress, anxiety, depression, happiness, work-family conflict, and family-work conflict were recorded across different demographic factors. Happiness was found to be a protective factor with a lesser likelihood of experiencing severe stress (OR = 0.240, 95% CI: 0.180, 0.321), anxiety (OR = 0.336, 95% CI: 0.273, 0.414), and depression (OR = 0.121, 95% CI: 0.088, 0.165) with higher happiness levels. Higher score of work-to-family conflict contributes to greater odds of having severe levels of anxiety (OR = 1.453, 95% CI: 1.161, 1.818). While greater likelihood of developing severe stress (OR = 1.468, 95% CI: 1.109, 1.943) and severe anxiety (OR = 1.317, 95% CI: 1.059, 1.638) under increasing score of family-to-work conflict. Besides, happiness is found to negatively linked with lower negative emotional symptoms, while work-family conflict and family-work conflict are positively linked with higher negative emotional symptoms.Conclusion: Lockdown implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have a significant impact on university students' negative emotional symptoms, happiness, and work-life balance. Happiness was found to be a protective factor while the state of work-life balance is a risk factor that can predict students' negative emotional symptoms.

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Middle-managers' innovative behaviours are considered an essential determinant of firm-level innovativeness. While prior research has traditionally focused on the contextual determinants of middle-managers' innovative work behaviour (IWB), research regarding individual-level determinants continues to remain scant. Particularly lacking is research which explores how middle-managers' ownership feelings influence their IWB. This study investigates whether middle-managers' affective commitment mediates the relationship between their psychological ownership and their IWB. Data are collected from 110 middle-managers – supervisor dyads in a large Malaysian IT organisation. Findings from this study contribute to enhancing our understanding of the individual-level determinants of middle-managers' IWB.

Happiness in the workplace remains to be an under-researched field which is unfortunate considering that the happiness-productive worker link has been strongly established. More essentially, there has been a lack of research on happiness in the workplace which considers a specific sample of millennials. In preparation for a workforce dominated with millennials, this research will help address the gap with regards to the lack of research on Malaysian millennials’ happiness in the workplace. Through a thorough literature review, six predictors or antecedents of happiness in the workplace among millennials which are meaningful work, work autonomy, transformational leadership, workplace friendship, work life balance, and gratitude have been chosen in this research. This study consists of millennials (“millennials” or Generation Y is defined in the selected literature as individuals born between years 1982 and 2004) who have undergone full time employment of at least one year or more. The results indicated that all the six predictors showed significant moderate to high positive relationships with happiness in the workplace. Multiple regression analysis showed that all six predictors significantly predicts millennials’ happiness in the workplace, besides gratitude. Implications of this study with regards to managing millennial talent in organisations are then discussed.

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