The relationship between financial well-being and employee performance among academics and the mediating role of psychological empowerment in this relationship: The case of Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University

Financial well-being is an important concept that refers to an individual's ability to meet both current and future financial needs. Employees who feel financially secure are more likely to concentrate on their work and demonstrate higher levels of job performance. In addition, psychological empowerment, which reflects employees' sense of autonomy, competence, meaningfulness, and influence in decision-making processes, is regarded as a significant managerial approach for enhancing employee performance. The aim of this study is to examine the mediating role of psychological empowerment in the relationship between financial well-being and employee performance among academics. Within the scope of the study, survey data were collected from 408 academics employed at Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University. The data were analyzed using SPSS, AMOS 20, and the SPSS PROCESS Macro. The findings revealed that financial wellbeing has a positive and significant effect on both employee performance and psychological empowerment. Furthermore, a positive and significant relationship was identified between psychological empowerment and employee performance. The mediation analysis indicated that psychological empowerment partially mediates the relationship between financial well-being and employee performance. The findings suggest that higher levels of financial well-being among academics directly enhance employee performance while also contributing indirectly by strengthening psychological empowerment. Consequently, improving academics' financial well-being positively influences employee performance both directly and indirectly through psychological empowerment. Based on these findings, it is recommended that university administrators prioritize policies and practices aimed at enhancing both the financial well-being and psychological empowerment of academic staff.