The Mediating Role of Work Well-Being between Financial Stress and Employee Engagement: Evidence from Bank Employees in Balochistan, Pakistan

Abstract

This study examines the mediating role of work well-being in the relationship between financial stress and employee engagement in banking organizations in Balochistan, Pakistan. Guided by the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework, the study explores how financial stress relates to employees’ well-being and engagement at work. A quantitative research design was adopted, and data were collected from 82 bank employees using self-administered questionnaires and convenience sampling. Responses were measured on a five-point Likert scale and analyzed using SPSS, correlation and regression analyses, and Hayes’ PROCESS macro. The findings reveal that financial stress significantly influences work well-being (β = 0.3605, p = 0.0025), while work well-being has a significant positive relationship with employee engagement (β = 0.5731, p < 0.001). However, the direct relationship between financial stress and employee engagement is statistically insignificant (β = 0.0535, p = 0.4821). The bootstrapped indirect effect through work well-being is positive and significant (effect = 0.2066; 95% CI [0.0775, 0.3823]), confirming its mediating role. These findings highlight the importance of work well-being in understanding employee engagement and suggest that organizations should consider employees’ well-being when developing strategies to improve engagement, particularly in the banking sector.