Enhancing Job Satisfaction among Academics in Malaysian Private Higher Education Institutions: The Mediating Role of Perceived Equity

The private higher education business in Malaysia has rapidly expanded, seeking to attract both local and international students. This expansion presents issues such as employee retention, excessive workloads, and diminished job satisfaction. The paucity of study on these matters, particularly post-COVID transformations such as digitalisation and hybrid instruction, obstructs initiatives aimed at enhancing academic well-being and performance. This study investigates the factors influencing job satisfaction among academics in Malaysian private higher education institutions (PHEIs), with perceived equity as a mediating variable. Drawing on Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and Adams’ Equity Theory, the research examines the effects of remuneration and benefits, workload and work-life balance, research and professional development opportunities, organizational support and leadership, and workplace culture on job satisfaction. A survey of 245 academics from diverse PHEIs was analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings confirm that remuneration and benefits, research and professional development opportunities, organizational support and leadership, and workplace culture positively influence job satisfaction, while workload and work-life balance have a negative impact. Perceived equity partially mediates these relationships, amplifying the effects of fair treatment and resources. These results highlight the critical role of perceived equity in resource-constrained PHEIs, offering practical implications for enhancing compensation, workload management, and leadership practices. Policymakers can use these findings to standardize PHEI working conditions, supporting Malaysia’s education hub ambitions. Future research should adopt longitudinal designs to explore evolving trends.