The Road from Money to Happiness

: Nowadays, companies must be concerned with the levels of satisfaction and happiness of employees. Hence, this paper proposes to investigate the links between salary and happiness through an exploratory study with a quasi-experimental design. The sample included 376 respondents, and we employed structured equation modeling (SEM) in ADANCO. Prior to evaluating the structural model, the goodness of ﬁt shows moderate/excellent values. Our empirical results show a positive relationship between salary and happiness, salary and life satisfaction, salary and ﬁnancial satisfaction, ﬁnancial satisfaction and life satisfaction, and ﬁnancial satisfaction and happiness. Thus, we consider that our research contributes to the literature by analyzing the relationship between income and happiness in a developing country such as Romania. Congruent with previous ﬁndings, we consider that our results provide evidence of the road from salary to happiness in developing countries.


Introduction
The relation between wealth and happiness has been discussed extensively in the academic literature (Easterlin 1974(Easterlin , 1995. However, there are several studies in the literature that show a positive connection between happiness and financial growth and an important correlation between happiness and the pleasure of an individual, which are directly related to the intensity of development and progress of a nation (Hagerty and Veenhoven 2003;Diener et al. 2018;Stevenson and Wolfers 2008;Steel et al. 2018;Killingsworth 2021;Ferrer-i-Carbonell 2005). In addition, the results of the research in the literature indicate that additional income beyond a certain level does not have an enduring impact on the feeling of happiness/joy, because we as individuals are able to adapt to different situations (Killingsworth 2021;Frederick and Loewenstein 1999;Frey and Stutzer 2002;Kahneman and Deaton 2010;Stevenson and Wolfers 2013;Jebb et al. 2018).
The feeling of whether you have enough money is primarily a question of character. One can have a million euros and still have the feeling that it is not enough. This means that there are people who never feel safe, and others feel safe even with little. The big stress with money is what to do with it or how to invest it properly. We get caught in a multi-option treadmill, which depends on the income situation. There are many people in the world for whom the lack of money is a stress factor. Even economics is not about maximum income. Ultimately, it is about the well-being of the individual. A high income is only a first step in this. In a second step, the income must be converted into activities that actually make you happy. Other factors are needed for this, so it is about finding the optimal mix. There are people who are unhappy because they have a lot of time but no money. Conversely, others have a lot of money but no time. We need a certain salary.
The subject of our research on the correlation between salary and happiness has been the topic of numerous studies, but most of them have focused on developed countries. A novelty of our study is the analysis of this relationship in a developing country. One of the studies that motivated us to do this research is the one conducted by Knight et al. (2009) on a sample of rural households in China. Following the research, the authors found that although people in rural areas have inferior incomes to individuals in urban zones, they declare themselves happy. We expect the results in Romania to be similar considering the cultural dimension (Hofstede 1984) and the fact that Romania is a country in development; the financial goal of people is primarily to lead a reasonable and quiet life that contributes to happiness (DiTella and MacCulloch 2010;Luo 2018;Fanning and O'Neill 2019;Cuong 2021;Lakshmanasamy and Maya 2020).
"Money can buy happiness" is a complex and meaningful statement with multiple implications. Studying human happiness in terms of growth/decline of salary/income/GDP has become one of the most researched topics among economists. For example, conventional economy assumes that higher incomes mean higher levels of happiness. On the other hand, one of the reference articles in this area, by Easterlin (1974Easterlin ( , 1975Easterlin ( , 2006, studies the substantial increase in real income in the USA , which has not led to a substantial increase in the level of happiness reported. Easterlin's paradox is not only a model for the USA, but it is also applicable in other countries like Japan or the United Kingdom. Salary/income is one of the most used variables (Cummins 2000a(Cummins , 2000bSchyns 2001;Diener and Biswas-Diener 2002;Graham and Pettinato 2004;Cai et al. 2018). When individuals are asked why they work, money is one of the most frequently cited reasons (Judge et al. 2010). When people focus on money, for example, by simply being preoccupied with gaining more, they may be less friendly in their relationships with others, being less vulnerable to social rejection and more determined to reach personal goals (Gino and Mogilner 2014;Doh and Chung 2020). In the meantime, Pickett (2009, 2018) have argued that greater income equality is associated with a higher quality of life and is particularly pertinent for physical and mental well-being measures that display a social gradient (Kühner et al. 2019).
This paper aims to analyze the connection between salary and happiness in Romania given the fact that it is a developing country and has undergone a series of economic and cultural transformations over the years. Following the ideas of the authors DiTella and MacCulloch (2010), who found that salary and happiness have a solid correlation in poorer individuals and less-developed countries, while full adaptation to greater incomes is reflected among richer people and developed countries.
Focused on the existing literature, this paper's objective is to study the links between salary and employee happiness. The remainder of this paper is structured as follows: Section 2 presents the literature review and hypothesis development. Section 3 discusses the methodology and tools and describes our data. The results of the structural model are presented and discussed in Section 4. Finally, Section 5 offers concluding remarks. Staubli et al. (2014) consider well-being as the scientific term dedicated to the phenomenon of happiness. Most researchers claim that well-being includes two components: a cognitive component (life satisfaction) and an affective component (happiness). These two components are strongly correlated, and for this reason, many researchers have assumed that the two variables actually measure the same thing (Veenhoven 1991;Lane 2000). Diener and Seligman (2004) claim that for a comprehensive assessment, the components must be measured separately. According to Mayraz et al. (2009), the most used tool to study the relationship between happiness and income is life satisfaction.

Literature Review and Hypothesis Development
Declaring oneself happy is an expression of a general sense, but satisfaction is more concrete and refers to several specific elements of life. A person could say that he or she is happy but is not content with certain aspects of life (e.g., job satisfaction, financial satisfaction, personal life, social life, health).
Based on the literature, this paper aims to study general happiness and satisfaction regarding salary levels. In other words, we expect the levels of satisfaction and happiness to increase with wage/salary levels. This hypothesis was formulated based on the literature (see Figure 1).
to increase with wage/salary levels. This hypothesis was formulated based on the literature (see Figure 1).

Hypothesis 1 (H1): Salary level is positively related to financial satisfaction.
Some researchers refer to the existence of an association between the individual or household income or salary and financial satisfaction (Easterlin 2006;Diener and Oishi 2000;DePianto 2011). Other academics study financial satisfaction-that is, the subjective assessment of a person's financial situation-as a "sub-construction" or subjective welfare and life satisfaction (Graham and Pettinato 2004;DePianto 2011;Van Praag 2004) as an important component of perceived economic status (Joo and Grable 2004;Kalleberg and Marsden 2012). , Hsieh (2004 used General Social Surveys data to observe the association between salary and financial satisfaction of older Americans and found that different income definitions have different effects on financial satisfaction. Vera-Toscano et al. (2006), using data from a national survey in Spain, found that not only revenue but also income expectations affect financial satisfaction. Sighieri et al. (2006), using data from nine European countries, examined the relationship between income and financial satisfaction and found that income and satisfaction had a positive correlation up to a certain point. Ali et al. (2015) and Halim and Astuti (2015) stated that financial satisfaction is an individual's perception of their current financial situation (Arifin 2018a(Arifin , 2018bDanish and Khan 2021).

Hypothesis 2 (H2): Financial satisfaction is positively related to life satisfaction.
Life satisfaction is one of the essential measures of subjective well-being (Diener 1984;Pavot and Diener 1993). Research shows that subjective well-being or quality of life is positively related to mental and physical health, job performance, interpersonal relationships, and marital status (Sirgy et al. 2007). The study of English subjects conducted by Bowling and Windsor (2001) found that professional satisfaction contributes to life satisfaction. Xiao (2008) uses the phrase "financial behaviors" to refer to positive or desirable behaviors recommended by consumer economists as ways to improve financial well-being. Common financial behaviors include practices related to cash, credit, and savings management (Xiao et al. 2009;Hilgert et al. 2003). Since the financial well-being of an individual can be either objective (measured in terms of income, assets, etc.) or subjective (measured in terms of financial satisfaction) (Joo 2008), positive financial behaviors may be considered to improve financial well-being in both areas. Xiao et al. (2009) found that positive financial behaviors contribute to the financial satisfaction of a sample of consumers using credit counselling. Moreover, as suggested by Maddux (2002), intentional actions to reduce financial stress could help to achieve optimal financial conditions.

Hypothesis 1 (H1). Salary level is positively related to financial satisfaction.
Some researchers refer to the existence of an association between the individual or household income or salary and financial satisfaction (Easterlin 2006;Diener and Oishi 2000;DePianto 2011). Other academics study financial satisfaction-that is, the subjective assessment of a person's financial situation-as a "sub-construction" or subjective welfare and life satisfaction (Graham and Pettinato 2004;DePianto 2011;Van Praag 2004) as an important component of perceived economic status (Joo and Grable 2004;Kalleberg and Marsden 2012). In 2004, Hsieh (2004) used General Social Surveys data to observe the association between salary and financial satisfaction of older Americans and found that different income definitions have different effects on financial satisfaction. Vera-Toscano et al. (2006), using data from a national survey in Spain, found that not only revenue but also income expectations affect financial satisfaction. Sighieri et al. (2006), using data from nine European countries, examined the relationship between income and financial satisfaction and found that income and satisfaction had a positive correlation up to a certain point. Ali et al. (2015) and Halim and Astuti (2015) stated that financial satisfaction is an individual's perception of their current financial situation (Arifin 2018a(Arifin , 2018bDanish and Khan 2021).

Hypothesis 2 (H2). Financial satisfaction is positively related to life satisfaction.
Life satisfaction is one of the essential measures of subjective well-being (Diener 1984;Pavot and Diener 1993). Research shows that subjective well-being or quality of life is positively related to mental and physical health, job performance, interpersonal relationships, and marital status (Sirgy et al. 2007). The study of English subjects conducted by Bowling and Windsor (2001) found that professional satisfaction contributes to life satisfaction. Xiao (2008) uses the phrase "financial behaviors" to refer to positive or desirable behaviors recommended by consumer economists as ways to improve financial wellbeing. Common financial behaviors include practices related to cash, credit, and savings management (Xiao et al. 2009;Hilgert et al. 2003). Since the financial well-being of an individual can be either objective (measured in terms of income, assets, etc.) or subjective (measured in terms of financial satisfaction) (Joo 2008), positive financial behaviors may be considered to improve financial well-being in both areas. Xiao et al. (2009) found that positive financial behaviors contribute to the financial satisfaction of a sample of consumers using credit counselling. Moreover, as suggested by Maddux (2002), intentional actions to reduce financial stress could help to achieve optimal financial conditions.

Hypothesis 3 (H3). Salary level is positively related to life satisfaction.
The most common measure of financial satisfaction is salary/income. Many studies have examined the relationship between salary/income and life satisfaction (Schyns 2001;Graham and Pettinato 2004;Hsieh 2004;Delhey 2004;Arthaud-Day and Near 2005;Tomini et al. 2016;Conde-Sala et al. 2017).
Schyns (2001), using a sample of Russian consumers, found that the relationship between salary and life satisfaction is complex. A year later, Diener and Biswas-Diener (2002) analyzed the relationship between income and subjective well-being and concluded that there is a very low correlation between income and subjective well-being in different nations, and that if people are not wealthy, increased income leads to an insignificant increase in happiness. A more recent study, using data collected from five countries, showed the effects of wealth and non-sustainable consumption on life satisfaction (Headey et al. 2008). Life satisfaction can be mitigated by financial compensation. The harm on physical well-being associated with long commuting is still worth addressing (Freedman 2017;Rohrer and Schmukle 2018;Sha et al. 2019;Kaiser et al. 2020;Hartung et al. 2021).
The cross-border study by Tomini et al. (2016) showed that income for elderly adults was positively linked to life satisfaction in almost all countries (including all Eastern postsocialist countries). The study by Conde-Sala et al. (2017) also confirmed that older adults with higher incomes report a better quality of life in Eastern European countries.

Hypothesis 4 (H4).
Life satisfaction is positively related to happiness.
Happiness and life satisfaction are the ultimate goals of human life (Layard 2011). Fugl-Meyer et al. (1991 analyzed the levels of satisfaction with life as a whole (happiness) by investigating eight different areas through questionnaires sent out in four age categories (25-, 35-, 45-and 55-year-olds) both to men and women. With a few exceptions (professional and financial satisfaction), the levels of global and field satisfaction were not age-dependent, and few gender gaps were found. In line with the Democrats, Tatarkiewicz (1976) considers that satisfaction with life as a whole is synonymous with happiness. For that reason, life satisfaction as a whole must be reasonable and reasonable for a long time.
However, (Hansen 2012) examining the relationship between parents, life satisfaction and happiness in different regions of the world, has shown that Eastern European countries are more pronatalist than other European countries. Furthermore, his findings show that in the former socialist countries the parent is linked to a higher level of subjective well-being.
As the researchers (Okulicz-Kozaryn and Golden 2018) concluded the social level that decommodification is associated with greater happiness (Okulicz-Kozaryn et al. 2014;Brzozowski and Coniglio 2021). The authors also emphasize the importance of flexible time and the establishment of their own work schedule as a step towards autonomy and freedom so that work and general life can be and have been improved through the quality of work programs.
We believe that the positive experiences of employees in working life should have a positive impact on general satisfaction and happiness. This relationship can be explained by the use of the bottom-up survival theory of life satisfaction (Diener 1984;Andrews and Withey 1976;Campbell et al. 1976).
The concept of financial satisfaction as part of building happiness in the subjective theory of well-being was introduced in the early 1970s. In the subjective theory of well-being, it is assumed that financial satisfaction, symbolized by income, is defined as happiness or prosperity (Van Praag et al. 2003;Van Praag 1968, 1971). Consequently, the study of financial satisfaction and the contributing factors are essential in strengthening individual financial happiness (Xiao 2008;Xiao et al. 2009;Joo 2008). In other words, the quality of life will be affected by life satisfaction, including financial satisfaction (Michalos 2008). Financial satisfaction serves as a mediation between income and the desired level of happi-ness (Diener and Biswas-Diener 2002). Financial satisfaction is also seen as an indicator of well-being and happiness (Van Praag 2004).

Hypothesis 6 (H6). Salary level is positively related to happiness.
It is well known that income has a positive effect on general happiness (Argyle 1999), but defining happiness is problematic (Jenkins and Delbridge 2014). Also, revenue growth tends to increase the level of happiness (Frijters et al. 2004), and a financial situation perceived in the previous year tends to increase psychological distress, given the level of income. Credit growth and savings decrease psychological distress (Brown et al. 2005). From another perspective, Achim et al. (2016) conclude that happier people are more likely to act honestly.

Research Methodology, Tool and Data
This paper presents an exploratory study with a quasi-experimental design. We used the questionnaire method of data collection, and we employed structural equation modeling (SEM) based on Partial Least Squares (PLS) in ADANCO 2.0.1 software. SEM is a statistical technique useful for testing complex models (Hair et al. 2011;Henseler et al. 2016).
As presented by Diener et al. (1985) for millennia, human well-being has been the scholarly province of philosophy and religion, with notables such as Aristotle, Confucius and Buddha weighing by defining the good life. Today's researchers focus more on factors that cause people to subjectively experience their lives as useful and rewarding. Thus, scientists studying "subjective well-being" do not prejudge what people will consider a good life for themselves, but is based on the judgments that respondents offer, based on any criteria that research participants consider most important.
The participation in this research was voluntary, and no reward was offered in exchange for participation. Participants were invited to complete the 3 tools without a time limit, moreover, respondents were informed about the confidentiality of the data collected and about the purpose of this research.
Surveys represent one of the most used methods in the literature to collect data concerning customers' experiences and well-being. The current survey is part of an empirical study on road of money to happiness. We resorted to a descriptive design, where the researcher already knows the type of data used for the research and the respondents to whom it is addressed, before distributing the questionnaires. To obtain valuable results, the quantitative approach is used in this study as a research method as well as the format of the self-administered questionnaire. The self-administered questionnaires in the platform offer the respondents the possibility to complete them in their spare time. An important factor in choosing this method is that it provides the respondents with anonymity to be honest in their answers.
We used two distinct tools: Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky and Lepper 1999) and The Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al. 1985), because according to Diener and Seligman (2004) Godwin (1994) summarized the study of financial satisfaction by concluding that there is no consensus on the best way to measure financial satisfaction. Some researchers in the field have measured satisfaction with one item, others have used multiple measures. Researchers such as (Godwin 1994;Davis and Schumm 1987;Jeries and Allen 1986;Porter and Garman 1993), used individual scales to measure financial satisfaction. Morgan (1992) used only one statement to measure economic satisfaction: "How satisfied are you with your financial situation?". Greenley et al. (1997) asked the question: "How comfortable and well-off are you financially?". Draughn et al. (1994) discussed economic satisfaction as consisting of three components: financial adequacy, perceived economic well-being, and satisfaction with the standard of living. Mugenda (1999a, 1999b) measured financial satisfaction with multiple items: money saved, amount of money owed, current financial situation, ability to meet long-term goals, preparedness to meet emergencies, and financial management skills (Jain et al. 2019). Based on previous literature, we created our Financial Satisfaction Scale (see Appendix A Table A1).
3.1.1. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SLS) Diener et al. (1985) determined a scale for life satisfaction and evaluated the items by assigning them values between 1 and 7, as follows: 1 strongly disagree, and 7 strongly agree, with the final score reflecting the average of these items. This scale has favourable psychometric properties regarding both high fidelity and high internal consistency (α = 0.87).

The Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS)
Lyubomirsky and Lepper (1999) measure the affective dimension of happiness with favourable psychometric properties in different cultures. The SHS proposes four items: every item is assigned a value of 1 to 7, for example, 1-a very happy person, while 7-not a very happy person.
Before the official launch of the questionnaire, it was pretested with ten subjects who critically assessed the questions based on wording, sentence construction, and question formulation. The questionnaire was launched online via Google Forms, which generated a link to the specific questionnaire.
In the current study, we examine the individual's behavior regarding satisfaction and happiness. The questionnaires were formulated in Romanian, and all respondents were Romanian. Our database (N = 376) consisted of 148 women (39.36% of participants) and 228 men (60.64%). The data were collected in October 2020, and all participants were informed about the purpose of the study. We also want to highlight the fact that the questionnaire was distributed online and targeted the IT field in Cluj County. Given that many studies in the literature emphasize the importance of age and its influence on results (Hitka et al. 2019(Hitka et al. , 2020(Hitka et al. , 2021, we want to note that we did not concern ourselves in this study with this aspect, due to the fact that the respondents involved had an age between 20-40 years; thus, we covered several age categories and we considered that the analysis of different age categories would not be relevant.

Results
In the context of SEM, we transferred our theoretical model into a statistical one with the help of ADANCO 2.0.1. software. First, we evaluated the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR), geodesic discrepancy (dG), and unweighted least squares discrepancy (dULS). Our results show excellent/acceptable values according to Dijkstra and Henseler (2015). Furthermore, we examined the reliability and validity of the measurement model. As shown in Table 1, the reliability coefficient (ρA, ρc, α) of each measurement construct is above 0.70. Moreover, the convergent validity (average variance extracted-AVE) explains 50% or more of the variance.

Interpretation
More than 0.7, in line with (Hair et al. 2011;Porter and Garman 1993) Not lower than 0.6, in line with (Morgan 1992) More than 0.7, in line with (Greenley et al. 1997) Minimum of 0.5, in line with (Morgan 1992) According to Hair et al. (2011), all indicator loadings should exceed 0.65 (Table 2). Our results demonstrate convergent validity and confirm the reliability of the indicators; therefore, all conditions have been respected. In addition, all the obtained values are below 0.9 for the Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio of Correlations (HTMT). These findings demonstrate the discriminant validity for all latent constructs, in line with Henseler et al. (2009Henseler et al. ( , 2015Henseler et al. ( , 2016 and Voorhees et al. (2016).
Our path coefficients were estimated by performing a bootstrapping procedure (Hartung et al. 2021). Table 3 presents the parameters that were obtained for our structural model with moderate and strong prediction. According to the rules specified by Hair et al. (2011), the R2 of the dependent construct Life Satisfaction can be considered excellent, whereas happiness (0.3912) and financial satisfaction (0.3331) were moderate. Moreover, we examined the magnitude and significance of the indirect path between salary and happiness, via financial and life satisfaction. The indirect path coefficient is significant and positive (β = 0.1800, β = 0.1055) in both cases. However, the indirect effect between financial satisfaction and happiness, via life satisfaction, is rather high (β = 0.7127).
In Table 4 are presented the results of the statistical model provide support for our total relationships between salary and financial satisfaction.

Conclusions
This paper presents the results of our study on the relationship between financial satisfaction, happiness, and life satisfaction. To answer the question of whether money makes you happy, the first step is to determine what exactly is meant by "happy". The need for a definition arises from the fact that the terms satisfaction, happiness, and well-being are often used synonymously and relatively arbitrarily in everyday life. This is understandable; after all, things that satisfy us make us happy in most cases, and vice versa. However, we generally expect a little more from money. As we claim to have a happy life, we hope that money will be the ultimate means of fulfilling that wish. As a result, we are less interested in whether money satisfies us or gives us a short-term feeling of happiness. Rather, we want to know whether money enables us to experience long-term well-being. The positive effects of money only become effective if you use it actively to create happiness. In the words of the philosopher Plato, "People are happy when they have what is good for them".

Theoretical and Managerial Implication
After reviewing the literature, we found that there are more possibilities to measure financial satisfaction, happiness, and life satisfaction. Our review summarizes the key work-related antecedents and consequences we identified for life satisfaction, financial satisfaction, and happiness. We drew our conclusions from data collected from a sample of voluntary employees. After collecting the data, we used structural equation modeling and validated our hypothesis. A positive relationship between salary and satisfaction exists, because individuals focus more on economic factors when evaluating their happiness.
This study provided statistical evidence that money makes people happy. Having a higher salary has a positive effect on the likelihood of being very happy and a negative effect on the likelihood of being unhappy. The results of this study were discussed and compared with the results of other studies on happiness. However, there are difficulties in comparing the results between studies. One source for the difference in results comes from the use of different variables meant to capture the same thing. Another source for the difference between the results may arise from different categorizations of variables or even demographic differences. For this reason, care is needed when comparing studies.
Finally, we believe that life satisfaction is an important outcome to be considered alongside other key management variables, such as work attitudes and behaviors. According to the studies found in the literature, money is the main reason for work. But money itself, separated from other factors, does not lead to happiness and self-satisfaction. Happiness and life satisfaction are interconnected concepts that contribute to one's quality of life (Sha et al. 2019). Life satisfaction, reflecting a cognitive assessment of one's life, seems to be more strongly associated with living conditions and social needs, while happiness, which refers to positive feeling, seems to be more strongly associated with the quality of social interaction (Lyubomirsky and Lepper 1999).

Limitation and Future Perspectives
Previous studies have found that income affects happiness in both relative and absolute terms and that the effect of an increase in income is transient. Whether salary can/cannot buy happiness remains an issue to be studied. A primary limitation of this study is the lack of longitudinal measurements. Another limitation of the study could be the field of activity, expansion at the national level and the international level in future would provide more widely relevant results. Additional research should also focus on studying how long the positive effect of higher income on happiness remains. We subscribe to the idea that completion of any research is the start of future developments or new perspectives in research.

Conflicts of Interest:
The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Financial Satisfaction
The Financial Satisfaction with Salary F 1 I am satisfied with my salary. Morgan (1992); Diener et al. (1985). F 2 Compared with most of my peers, I consider my salary: Note: * 1 to 7 point Likert scale ranges from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree.