Measuring student and staff mental wellbeing at an Australian university: Findings and methodological lessons from a multi-level, multi-wave study

Evidence indicates high mental ill-health and low wellbeing among university workers, yet measuring the complex determinants of these concerns is methodologically challenging. In this article, we propose a theoretical model integrating organisational (Psychosocial Safety Climate PSC), psychosocial (work-related risk and protective factors), and individual (emotional exhaustion, work engagement) determinants of mental wellbeing., and report the testing of this model through a cross-sectional study with staff at an Australian university (N = 2697). We hypothesised that PSC would explain variance in staff mental wellbeing via mediated pathways through work-related psychosocial factors, emotional exhaustion, and work engagement. Via correlational analysis and structural equation modelling, we generated (i) a minimal model, and (ii) an alternative model with additional paths between selected factors. The latter yielded excellent fit (GFI = 1.0, CFI = 1.0, TLI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.036 90% CI = 0.018 to 0.056) and strong mediation from PSC through to mental wellbeing (standardized regression coefficient 95% CI 0.29 to 0.34, p = 0.01) with all relationships significant (p 0.05). Our work empirically supports PSC as an upstream organisational determinant that affects university staff mental wellbeing downstream via work-related psychosocial factors, emotional exhaustion, and work engagement. We set out implications and recommendations for further steps across research, practice, and policymaking.