Does Authentic Leadership Foster Work Engagement? A Post-Pandemic Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

<ns3:p> Abstract* Background Work engagement has emerged as a critical psychological resource for organizational resilience in the post-pandemic era. Authentic leadership is theoretically positioned as a key antecedent of engagement, yet empirical findings regarding the strength and consistency of this relationship remain fragmented, particularly across emerging economies. This study synthesizes post-pandemic evidence on the authentic leadership and work engagement relationship, integrating Social Exchange Theory and the Job Demands-Resources model as complementary interpretive frameworks. Methods Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic search was conducted across SCOPUS, Web of Science, Wiley Online, and APA PsycNet for peer-reviewed empirical studies published between 2020 and 2025. Only studies reporting bivariate Pearson correlation coefficients were included. Nineteen studies spanning 12 countries across Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, and Oceania met the inclusion criteria, yielding a combined sample of 6,916 participants. A random-effects meta-analysis using Restricted Maximum Likelihood estimation with Knapp-Hartung adjustment was performed. Subgroup analyses examined cultural power distance, industry type, organizational sector, and country classification as moderators. Results The analysis revealed a significant positive pooled correlation between authentic leadership and work engagement ( <ns3:italic>r</ns3:italic> = 0.41, 95% <ns3:italic>CI</ns3:italic> [0.35, 0.47], <ns3:italic>p</ns3:italic> &lt; .001), classified as a medium effect, with substantial heterogeneity ( <ns3:italic> I <ns3:sup>2</ns3:sup> </ns3:italic> = 87.20%). None of the four tested moderators significantly explained between-study variance, although limited statistical power due to unbalanced subgroup sizes precludes definitive conclusions regarding contextual invariance. Robustness was supported by a Fail-Safe N of 7,783 and sensitivity analyses. Narrative synthesis identified psychological capital and psychological empowerment as the most consistently supported mediating mechanisms, with organizational performance, innovative work behavior, and leadership aspirations as preliminary downstream outcomes. Conclusions Authentic leadership demonstrated a consistent positive association with work engagement across the diverse contexts represented in the included studies. These findings suggest that authentic leadership development may contribute to fostering decent work environments, with relevance to Sustainable Development Goal 8. </ns3:p>