From inclusive leadership to thriving at work: the mediating and moderating roles of teaching efficacy and professional identity

Introduction: As a pivotal dimension of sustainable career development, employee thriving at work has garnered substantial scholarly and practical attention as a salient indicator of optimal psychological functioning in organizational settings. Extant literature has preliminarily established correlations between general leadership styles and employee thriving; however, the precise mechanisms and contextual contingencies through which inclusive leadership-characterized by openness, availability, and accessibility-fosters thriving at work among young university teachers remain inadequately theorized and empirically underexplored. Methods: This study integrates social cognitive theory with the socially embedded model of thriving to conceptualize a moderated mediation framework. Using questionnaire data collected from 755 young faculty members across Chinese universities, we examine the mediating role of teaching efficacy-a core belief in one's instructional capability-in transmitting the influence of inclusive leadership to thriving at work, as well as the moderating function of professional identity in strengthening these relational pathways. Results: Our analyses reveal four key findings: (1) Inclusive leadership exerts a significant positive effect on thriving at work; (2) It also substantially enhances teachers' sense of teaching efficacy; (3) Teaching efficacy partially mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and thriving; (4) Professional identity not only amplifies the direct effect of inclusive leadership on teaching efficacy but also reinforces the strength of the indirect effect of inclusive leadership on thriving via teaching efficacy. Discussion: By contextualizing the thriving construct within the unique socio-cultural milieu of Chinese higher education, this study provides a nuanced theoretical account of how and when inclusive leadership cultivates thriving at work among early-career academics. These insights contribute meaningfully to the growing discourse on leadership and workplace well-being, while also offering actionable implications for academic institutions seeking to foster supportive environments that enhance both teaching and research performance.