The Mediating Role of Work Engagement on the Relationship between Emotional SelfAwareness and Occupational Fatigue among Manufacturing Sector Employees

Abstract

Occupational fatigue, marked by feelings of emotional and physical exhaustion, continues to be a significant issue in contemporary work environments. Understanding the psychological factors that protect against fatigue is thus crucial. This study examines the mediating effect of work engagement in the connection between emotional self-awareness and occupational fatigue. Drawing on Affective Events Theory and Conservation of Resources Theory, the research asserts that employees who understand and control their emotions can better maintain engagement, which acts as a personal resource to resist fatigue. A quantitative approach was taken, gathering survey information from 325 employees in varied industries with established scales for emotional self-awareness, work engagement and occupational fatigue. The findings to show that emotional self-awareness was found to be negatively correlated with occupational fatigue, placing the hypothesis that those with higher levels of awareness feel less fatigue. Further, the findings show that work engagement partially mediates between emotional self-awareness and occupational fatigue, implying that being emotionally self-aware means employees are more engaged at work, reducing fatigue in challenging working situations. The findings highlight the imperative of facilitating emotional self-awareness and engagement among organizations. Enhancing emotions understanding and directing emotions into productive behaviours, organizations can foster resilience, maintain energy, and promote psychological satisfaction, thus alleviating the negative impacts of occupational fatigue.