This study aims to explore the role of sustainable leadership (SL) in enhancing employee subjective well-being (SWB) within healthcare settings during pandemics like COVID-19 emphasizing the mediating influence of compassion and the moderating role of burnout.
Data were collected from 365 frontline health-care workers (i.e. doctors and nurses) working in public and private sector hospitals. A quantitative research design was employed, and the data were analyzed using Hayes' PROCESS macro to test both direct and indirect effects, specifically focusing on mediation and moderated mediation models.
The study's findings validate the hypothesized relationships. SL positively influences employee well-being through compassion; however, this indirect effect diminishes under high levels of burnout, indicating a conditional compassion pathway.
Healthcare leaders should adopt SL approaches that cultivate compassion while actively addressing employee burnout. Such efforts can preserve and enhance staff well-being, especially in high-stress healthcare environments during crises, particularly pandemics.
This study contributes to the emerging literature on SL by introducing compassion as a key mediating mechanism in enhancing employee SWB. It further extends existing models by identifying burnout as a boundary condition that weakens the compassion–well-being link. The findings offer a nuanced understanding of how SL can foster well-being in healthcare settings, particularly during crisis contexts such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
