The impact of leadership, social interaction, and support on subjective well-being among employees in a Malaysian public university: the mediating role of self-efficacy

This study examined the relationships among leadership, workplace social interaction, perceived support, self-efficacy, and subjective well-being (SWB) among employees in a Malaysian public university. Grounded primarily in Social Cognitive Theory, the study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-method design. Quantitative data were collected from 522 academic and non-academic staff and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), followed by semi-structured interviews with eight participants. The findings revealed that perceived support positively influenced self-efficacy, whereas leadership demonstrated a significant negative relationship with self-efficacy. Workplace social interaction did not significantly influence self-efficacy. Self-efficacy significantly predicted SWB and mediated the relationships between leadership, perceived support, and SWB. Qualitative findings indicated that supportive leadership enhanced well-being, whereas excessive monitoring, unclear expectations, and workload pressures undermined employees’ confidence and psychological functioning. Overall, the findings suggest that organizational influences on SWB within higher education environments may be context-dependent rather than uniformly positive.