Authentic Leadership and Academics’ Work–Family Balance: The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital

Information from the abstract

Academics frequently face challenges in managing their work and family demands. Yet, limited attention has been given to how authentic leadership relates to work–family balance (WFB) in Indonesian higher education and to the psychological mechanism underlying this relationship. Drawing on the work–home resources (WH-R) model, this study examines whether psychological capital (PC) mediates the relationship between authentic leadership and academics’ WFB. Data were collected in two survey waves, separated by approximately one week, from a final sample of 237 university faculty members in Indonesia and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results showed that the direct effect of authentic leadership on academics’ WFB was non-significant after PC was included in the model. In contrast, the indirect effect of authentic leadership on WFB through PC was positive and significant. Thus, the proposed direct-effect hypothesis was not supported, whereas the mediation hypothesis was supported. This pattern indicates indirect-only mediation, traditionally referred to as full mediation, suggesting that, within the tested model, authentic leadership is associated with academics’ WFB through the development of PC rather than through a remaining direct pathway. These findings extend the authentic leadership and work–family literature by identifying PC as a personal-resource mechanism that links authentic leadership, a contextual work resource, to academics’ WFB. Practically, the findings suggest that higher education institutions should complement the development of authentic leadership with initiatives that strengthen academics’ psychological resources to help them manage their work and family roles.

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Related topics: Work-Family Balance Challenges · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Workaholism, burnout, and well-being