The mediating effect of job satisfaction on the relationship between psychological capital and well-being in Vietnamese higher educators

Grounded in Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study examines how future-oriented personal resources from psychological capital (optimism and hope) relate to university lecturers’ well-being and whether their job satisfaction functions as a conditional resource linking these personal resources to the outcomes. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 224 Vietnamese university lecturers. Participants completed validated measures of the components of psychological capital (optimism, hope, self-efficacy, resilience), job satisfaction, and overall well-being. Path analysis with 5000 resampling bootstraps was used to test direct and mediating relationships. Job satisfaction showed a strong positive association with well-being (β = 0.296, p < 0.001). Optimism was positively associated with both job satisfaction (β = 0.193, p = 0.018) and well-being (β = 0.175, p = 0.011), resulting in a significant indirect effect on well-being through job satisfaction (β = 0.057, p = 0.031). Hope had a significant direct impact on well-being (β = 0.233, p = 0.001) but did not predict job satisfaction. Self-efficacy and resilience were not significant predictors of either outcome. Additional analyses showed that married lecturers reported higher job satisfaction, and non-STEM lecturers demonstrated greater optimism than their STEM colleagues, reflecting differences in higher education context. The findings clarify two pathways in accordance with COR among university lecturers, including a context-appraisal pathway in which optimism translates into greater job satisfaction and, subsequently, higher well-being, and a goal-navigation pathway in which hope directly enhances well-being, independent of job evaluations.