The influence mechanisms of inclusive leadership on job satisfaction: Evidence from young university employees in China

BACKGROUND: Leadership style and job satisfaction are currently hot issues in the field of management psychology research, especially with regard to young employees. OBJECTIVE: This study attempted to explain the mechanism of improving employees’ job satisfaction by combining the key factors of work-family balance and psychological capital. METHODS: We adopted the literature method, questionnaire survey method, and statistics method to conduct the research. And we conducted structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis of 540 young university employees in China using the random sampling method for sampling. RESULTS: Based on the structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis of 540 young university employees in China, the results show that inclusive leadership has a positive impact on improving employees’ job satisfaction and that work-family balance is beneficial to serving leaders in improving employees’ job satisfaction. Simultaneously, psychological capital positively moderates the indirect effect of inclusive leadership on improving job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The final model revealed an important path from inclusive leadership to job satisfaction through work-family balance. These findings not only extend and enrich the relevant research on the relationship between inclusive leadership and job satisfaction but also shed some light on university management practice.