Linking Performance Expectations to Work Engagement: Roles of Self-Efficacy and Job Insecurity

This study examines how managers' high performance expectations influence employees' work engagement through their self-efficacy perceptions, and explores the moderating role of job insecurity in this relationship. Within the scope of the study, data were collected between January and March 2024 from two distinct occupational groups private-sector teachers and sales representatives in Trabzon, through an online questionnaire administered using convenience sampling. A total sample of 670 participants was analyzed. Based on the collected data, Hayes Process Model 4 was used to analyze the mediating role of self-efficacy, while Hayes Process Model 7 was employed to examine the moderating role of job insecurity. The results indicated that managers' high performance expectations are positively associated with employees' work engagement, with self-efficacy serving as a mediating variable and job insecurity acting as a moderator in this relationship. The mediating effect of self-efficacy on job engagement was 14.7% for teachers and 47.6% for sales representatives, indicating a meaningful difference across occupational groups.