Role Performance of Individuals Working in Higher Education Institutions

The aim of this study was to identify the factors influencing job performance—specifically, Individual Task Proficiency (ITP), Team Member Proficiency (TMP), and Organization Member Proficiency (OMP)—among individuals working in higher education. The study was based on a job performance framework developed from the Job Characteristics Model (JCM) by Hackman and Oldham (1980) and its modifications. It incorporated 11 work characteristics as independent variables, critical psychological states as mediators, and psychological safety as a moderator of these interactions.Moderated mediation analyses revealed that psychological safety often strengthened the indirect effects of critical psychological states (specifically, sense of responsibility and knowledge of results) on job performance, particularly when psychological safety was moderate or high.These findings align with prior research emphasizing the growing importance of social and contextual factors in work design and reinforce the thesis that critical psychological states mediate the relationship between work characteristics and job performance. Psychological safety should be viewed as a key moderator in these relationships.This study addresses a gap in the literature on job performance in academia. From a practical perspective, the results highlight the need for organizations to cultivate a psychologically safe and supportive climate to enhance job performance.Keywords: higher education, job performance, job proficiency, work characteristics, work design, psychological safety, sense of meaningfulness, sense of responsibility, knowledge of results