Measuring the Mediating Role of Psychological Empowerment in the Impact of Transformational Leadership on Employee Job Satisfaction

One of the best ways to maintain and improve human resources is to increase employee job satisfaction. Managers with a transformational leadership style are also one of the most important factors in improving job satisfaction. The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of transformational leadership on the job satisfaction of employees with regard to the mediating role of psychological empowerment.

The statistical population of this research consisted of 1,500 employees of the central headquarters of the Tehran Social Security Organization, Tehran, Iran. The sample size (n=306) was calculated using the random sampling method and using Cochran's formula. Data collection tools were the Avolio and Bass standard transformational leadership questionnaire, Minnesota job satisfaction questionnaire, and Spretitzer psychological empowerment questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaires was measured by face and content validity. The reliability of these tools was assessed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient, whose value was calculated as 0.79 for the transformational leadership questionnaire, 0.83 for the empowerment questionnaire, and 0.82 for the job satisfaction questionnaire. Analysis of research data was done in SmartPLS software using path analysis and the structural equation model.

Based on the findings, all research hypotheses were confirmed. The results obtained from the Sobel test showed that the indirect effect of transformational leadership style on job satisfaction through employee empowerment was 0.556; the positive value of beta (0.556) indicated the positive intensity of the effect.

The results of the research demonstrated that the role of transformational leadership by the managers of the organization would be effective in the feeling of job satisfaction and its improvement through creating working conditions that provide the empowerment of employees.