The mediating role of work engagement in the impact of authentic leadership and organizational justice on employee mental health

This study, based on the Job Demands-Resources theory, intends to examine the effects of two positive organizational behaviors [authentic leadership (AL) and organizational justice (OJ)] on employees’ mental health (MH) and investigate the mediating role of work engagement (WE). The survey was conducted in Ho Chi Minh City, a significant industrial hub in Vietnam, utilizing a non-probability convenient sampling method. Two hundred and sixty-two responses were collected online and analyzed using SPSS 20 and Smart PLS 4 software. The results from PLS-SEM supported seven hypotheses that AL, OJ, and WE positively impact MH; the resources of AL and OJ are vital in enhancing both WE and MH, in which WE play a complementary mediation in these relationships. This study contributes significantly to the extant literature by understanding how AL and OJ predict employees’ WE and MH and provides organizations with an overview of the role of two kinds of job resources (AL and OJ) in encouraging WE and enhancing MH, in which, actionable strategies by combining these resources at the workplace can improve employees’ MH.