The Effect of Workplace Stress on Employee Engagement, the Mediation Role of Leadership Style

The aim of the current study was to investigate the impact of workplace stress on employee engagement within Iraqi universities through the mediator role of leadership style. Work-related stress and non-work-related stress were identified as representing workplace stress. Employee engagement has been measured through three types: social engagement, affective engagement, and intellectual engagement. Two types of leadership styles have been tested: directive and participative leadership. the structural equation Modeling was used to test the study model. A sample of 245 employees in Iraqi universities, including university professors, was targeted. Only 214 respondents participated in the survey. The results showed that non-work-related stress is the most influential factor in employee engagement. Furthermore, it has been found that the participative leadership style mediates the relationship between work-related and non-work-related stress and employee engagement. There is one exception; participative leadership did not mediate the impact of non-work-related stress on intellectual.