Research studies on happiness and wellbeing are of interest to academics, policy makers and practitioners as they seek to enhance the lives of individuals and communities. In our project on the quality of life of Singaporeans, we use theories and measurement tools from three main streams of research: (1) the subjective wellbeing perspective (2) values, and (3) socio-political indicators. The 2016 Quality of Life Survey comprises a fairly comprehensive set of social indicators that have been validated for use in the Singapore context through past surveys (in 2011, 2006 and 2001). The sample of 1500 respondents is a stratified and random one that is representative of the demographics of Singaporeans according to the latest Population Census. Through the data analyses of this project, we aim to answer research questions pertaining to the quality of life and wellbeing of Singaporeans from a holistic perspective. Who are the happy Singaporeans, and what contributes to their life satisfaction? Issues like the impact of demographic variables on Singaporeans’ cognitive aspects of subjective wellbeing in terms of life satisfaction, and affective aspects of subjective wellbeing in terms of happiness, enjoyment, achievement, emotional, and psychological wellbeing will be examined. Correlation and cohort analyses will be conducted to track changes in Singaporeans’ personal values over time. The value orientations of Singaporeans together with demographic variables will be used to perform cluster analyses to define psychographic profiles of Singaporeans and examine whether and how these profiles evolve over time. Additional analyses will also be conducted to help uncover the underlying determinants of wellbeing for Singaporeans.

The experience of stressful job demands can help to build more resilient employees in the long run – individuals who are not only able to manage the demands of the workplace, but to also recover and develop their abilities as they encounter setbacks. This study seeks to investigate how fluctuations in (stressful) job demands and the availability and use of resources work in concert to develop employee resilience. Findings from this study would contribute toward knowledge of how employees can develop their abilities to cope with various job challenges and inform organisations on how they can support employees to become more resilient.

Studies suggest that when shocks recur, firms revisit their experience in prior shocks to make sense of current challenges. This research will evaluate firms’ understanding of previous shocks, of their reactions to these shocks, and of the outcomes of such reactions. The study evaluates 607 firms from five emerging Asian economies that survived serial economic shocks between 1997 and 2008. This study will improve understanding of how firms’ interpretations of previous shocks influence their choices and outcomes in current shocks.

In a global environment that is increasingly characterised by unpredictability and complexity, leaders are often thrown into highly stressful situations such as natural or man-made disasters, terrorist attacks, and major product failures, where they have to lead ad-hoc task forces or project groups to meet specific objectives within a short timeline. This study examines how leaders manage relationships and civility with team members in high-stress situations. Both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected to understand critical issues that leaders must deal with when managing crisis situations.

Non-financial corporations in the United States hold more than 20 per cent of the aggregate money stock, and they account for approximately 50 per cent of annual output. As such, the effectiveness of monetary policy depends crucially on this source of money demand. Examining the interest sensitivity of corporate cash has important policy implications.

This research aims to understand how a dynamic social context affects consumer decisions. Currently, research in this area is focused mainly on factors that affect individual decision processes without a social context. The findings will shed light on consumer purchase decisions and satisfaction, and help marketers better understand consumer behaviour. I examine in a number of projects how the presence or anticipation of social presence affects consumer behaviours. These include how people make gift-giving choices, surrogate decisions for others, reciprocation decisions (e.g., how people initiate and repay favours), as well as prosocial decisions (e.g., donations and volunteering).

Behavioural ethics research has typically explored the benefits of morality at work. In this research, I discuss two projects that examine the unintended negative effects of being a moral person at work. In the first, I explore the tension between morality and humour and the downstream consequences of such tension. Results from five studies employing different methodologies suggest that moral employees produce fewer jokes, appreciate humour less, and are perceived by co-workers to be less funny. These perceptions, in turn, lead to reduced likeability at work. In the second, I explore the tension between morality and creativity. Using primary, multisource, multi-wave data from a sample of CEO and Chief Human Resources Officer dyads in the biotechnology industry, I find that CEOs with strong moral identities promote rule-adhering organisational norms that negatively impact firm innovation. In sum, I suggest that although morality is generally a positive trait, it can have downsides in certain situations that must be recognised and effectively managed.

Singapore’s Social Sciences Research Council has awarded a grant of $4.74 million for research into service productivity. The inter-disciplinary project draws scholars with diverse expertise including data analytics, optimisation, stochastic modelling, applied microeconomics, and behavioural science. The project will advance new scientific knowledge in the disciplines and develop cost-effective and scalable strategies to raise productivity across multiple industries, including retail, logistics, transport services, and healthcare. The project team is collaborating with partners in the public and private sector, including the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Infocomm Development Authority, SingHealth, Eastern Health Alliance, Yamato Asia, and Sheng Siong Supermarket.

Smart payment and mobile technologies have created opportunities for Mobility as a Service (MaaS) to become a promising urban transportation solution for future generations. In 2015, The Land Transport Authority of Singapore (LTA) launched a prototype MaaS – an Off-peak Monthly Travel Pass (OMTP). At a price of S$80, the OMTP allows subscribed commuters unlimited free trips on public transport during various off-peak windows. However, the take-up rate has yet to achieve its full potential. Studies suggest status-quo bias is an important reason for the low take-up rate. In our study, we propose examining ways to overcome the status-quo bias in the context of OMTP adoption through field experiments. Building on the findings, we will then enrich the scope of MaaS products beyond OMTP and Adult Monthly Travel Pass (AMTP) to include complementary point-to-point transit options.

What is entrepreneurship and what makes an entrepreneur? While the founding of highly innovative firms with significant growth potential forms the cornerstone of economic growth, the labour market at large is increasingly being populated by self-employed contract workers. Understanding the social histories of these two populations – where they come from, what they do, how they refer to themselves and why they succeed or fail – is important not just to the academic field of entrepreneurship, but also to informed policy making and resource allocation. I study the socio-economic and career factors that affect both high potential start-up founding and self-employment outcomes. I address these questions through the computational analyses of start-up data repositories (e.g. PitchBook, CrunchBase, AngelList) and a hand-collected dataset of over 3 million unstructured resumes that comprise the high-technology professional ecology of the US.