Impact of career development, leadership participation, and team spirit on job satisfaction: mediating role of job performance in ICP-UAE

This study examines the effects of participative leadership style, career development and team spirit on job satisfaction, with job performance acting as a mediating variable, among employees of the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs, and Ports Security (ICP) in the United Arab Emirates. The study addresses the problem of low job satisfaction levels in public institutions by investigating behavioral and organizational factors that may influence employee attitudes and performance. Quantitative research methodology was employed, using a structured questionnaire distributed to 400 employees, of which 357 valid responses were collected. The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings revealed significant positive effects of participative leadership, career development and team spirit on job satisfaction, and further demonstrated that job performance mediates these relationships. The study contributes practical insights for public sector management by highlighting strategies that can improve work environments, enhance employee satisfaction and ultimately boost institutional performance.