Problem solving skill's effect on employee well-being: The mediating role of internal-external control orientation

The aim of this study is to explain the mediating role of internal-external locus of control in the effect of academicians' problem solving skills on employee well-being. For this purpose, the mediating effect of both internal and external locus of control on the effect of problem solving skills on psychological well-being, subjective well-being and workplace well-being, which are sub-dimensions of employee well-being, was examined. It is predicted that internal-external locus of control will play a mediating role in this relationship and contribute to the strengthening of this positive relationship. It is the contribution of this study to the literature that there is no study in the literature that evaluates the three sub-dimensions of working well-being separately and examines the relationship of these dimensions with problem-solving skills and internal-external locus of control. For the research, three types of questionnaires were applied to 209 academicians working in state universities in Ankara on a voluntary basis. The data obtained were analyzed with SPSS 26 and AMOS 24 package programs. As a result of the research, problem solving skills and the three sub-dimensions of the employee well-being variable, psychological well-being, subjective well-being and workplace well-being, were associated one by one and it was checked whether the relationship between them was significant. Then, it was examined whether both internal and external locus of control had a mediating effect between these relationships. Process Macro developed by Hayes (2018) was used for the analysis of mediation (Model 4) effects. In the study, it was argued that internal-external locus of control has a mediating role in the effect of problem solving skills on employee well-being, but according to the results of the analysis, only internal locus of control has a mediating role in the effect of problem solving skills on employee well-being.