Organizational Psychology

Purpose. Despite the increased focus of modern scholars on professional commitment, academicians’ social and personal life status was not considered much in the job stress research on higher education; only outcomes like performance, satisfaction, and intention were noticeably examined. This study aims to understand the effects of job stress on academics’ life satisfaction and professional commitment, with social support as a moderator. Approach. The “Social Exchange Theory” and the “Person — Job Fit Theory” were chosen by the study to construct its research model. The study followed a convenient sampling technique to select the sample. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 228 lecturers at Indonesian Public Universities, while PLS-SEM was employed to examine the structural equation model analysis. Findings. As per findings, job stress significantly influences life satisfaction (β =–0.312; p < 0.01) and in significant professional commitment (β = 0.059; p > 0.01). Life satisfaction also insignificantly influences professional commitment (β = 0.150; p > 0.01). Besides, social support does not moderate the relationship between job stress and professional commitment (β = –0.016.; p > 0.01), but between job stress and life satisfaction (β = –0.120; p < 0.01). Research limitations. The researchis limited within one country and specifically public universities which cannot be generalized with the findings of the results. These results suggest a broader investigation into the factors influencing academics’ professional commitment and the need for increased social support to reduce work-relatedstress and improve overall well-being. Value of the results. By integrating into how extensive work-life issues influence people’s personal life satisfaction and professional commitments, as well as factors that deal with one’s professional dedication, this research advances the social exchange theory and person job fit theory. Besides, the study uniquely contributes to behavioral science by examining the role of societal support from the internal organization and external environment and how it moderates the relationship between job stress with professional commitment and life satisfaction.