Fostering employee engagement and mental health: Impact of psychological safety, humble leadership, and knowledge sharing in the Japanese public sector

Employee engagement and mental health are two important factors influencing employee attrition in the public sector. This study investigated how to maintain high levels of employee engagement and mental health in government organizations while maintaining a high retention rate. It aimed to clarify the associations between theoretically significant variables (psychological safety, humble leadership, and knowledge sharing) and their effects on employee engagement and mental health. Adopting a cross-sectional design, an online survey was administered to 1,088 employees in the public sector. Multilevel analyses were conducted as some of the measured variables were considered team variables. Psychological safety mediated the relationship between humble leadership and the outcome variables (employee engagement and mental health). Regarding culture, this study makes a significant contribution to the literature because it was conducted in a non-Western context. It contributes theoretically and practically to the understanding of balancing employee engagement, mental health, and organizational productivity.