The mediating role of job satisfaction in the relationship between life satisfaction and organizational reputation: evidence from public health professionals in Brazil

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the associations of life satisfaction and job satisfaction with the organizational reputation of public health institutions, testing the mediating role of job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey was conducted with 218 public health professionals from a Brazilian municipality. Data were collected through online and in-person questionnaires using validated scales: the satisfaction with life scale, the job satisfaction scale and the organizational reputation scale. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to test the relationships between the constructs, ensuring methodological rigor through reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity assessments before hypothesis testing. Findings The results indicate that satisfaction with life does not exert a significant direct effect on organizational reputation. However, life satisfaction is indirectly associated with organizational reputation through job satisfaction. Originality/value This study offers an incremental contribution to health organization and management research by clarifying that the relationship between life satisfaction and organizational reputation is not direct, but operates through job satisfaction. Rather than claiming a new relationship among the constructs, the study refines the application of Spillover Theory by identifying job satisfaction as a work-domain mechanism through which general well-being becomes relevant to organizational reputation in public health organizations.