Work engagement as a mediator between subjective well-being and work-and-health outcomes

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of work engagement as a mediator in the relationship of subjective well-being with work performance, work withdrawal behavior, physical and mental health.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey design was used to collect the data from 369 Indian software developers. Latent variable structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships.

Findings

Subjective well-being was found to have a significant positive association with work engagement and this, in turn, had significantly enhanced employee’s work performance and reduced work withdrawal behavior, mental and physical ill-health. In addition, work engagement was found to fully mediate the association of subjective well-being with work performance and mental ill-health, while it partially mediated the association of subjective well-being with work withdrawal behaviors and physical ill-health.

Practical implications

This paper contributes to the development of self-sustaining approach toward increasing work engagement and provides a way to deal with work-and-health outcomes.

Originality/value

This study is one of the early attempts to examine direct and indirect associations of subjective well-being with work-and-health outcomes in an Indian setting.

Citation

Garg, N. and Singh, P. (2020), "Work engagement as a mediator between subjective well-being and work-and-health outcomes", Management Research Review, Vol. 43 No. 6, pp. 735-752. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-03-2019-0143