High-performance work systems and academicians' work performance: the mediating role of quality of working life

Academics are a professional profession that is facing many challenges because of the various demands placed on them. Academics are now not only responsible for teaching but also required to fulfil other requirements as required by the institution including academic journal writing, research, publication, conferences, consultation, and community service as well as industry collaboration. However, they also have responsibilities to their families and to themselves. The question is, are they capable
of taking on such responsibility? Is there a way to meet their needs? Therefore, this study aimed to study the role quality of working life (QoWL) as a mediator in the relationship between a high-performance work system (HPWS) and academic work
performance (AWP). 332 academics from focused universities in Kedah and Perlis were randomly selected to respond to the survey. The survey questionnaire consisted of 76 items covering selected factors namely HPWS, QOWL, and job performance. The data collected for tested the reliability, and then analysed using bootstrap to test the hypothesis. The results of this study confirm that a high-performance work system positively related to the quality of work life. In addition, the quality of work-life also positively related to academic work performance. Overall, the results of this study
show that QOWL is a mediator in the relationship between high-performance work systems and academic work performance. Finally, this study contributes to the theory of the social exchange theory because of the implementation of HPWS can effectively
improve quality of working life and ultimately academician’s work performance. In addition, this study also looks at the implications for management as well as discusses the recommendations of future studies.