Attitude Towards Artificial Intelligence as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Job Workload, Academic Performance, and Psychological Well-Being Among Malaysian Academicians
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Abstract
Background: Academicians in Malaysian public universities are facing increasingly heavy workloads and performance-related pressures, which may adversely affect their psychological well-being. Given the rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in academia, it is essential to understand how attitudes towards AI influence academicians’ workload and performance outcomes. This study examined the mediating role of attitude towards AI in affecting the relationship between job workload, academic performance, and psychological well-being among academicians.
Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted among 465 academicians from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi MARA, and Universiti Malaysia Perlis. Four validated instruments were implemented to measure job workload, academic performance, general attitude towards AI, and psychological well-being. Mediation analysis was conducted using structural equation modelling, with job workload and academic performance as independent variables, attitude towards AI as the mediator, and psychological well-being as the dependent variable.
Results: Attitude towards AI fully mediated the relationships between job workload and academic performance with psychological well-being, as evidenced by their significant indirect effects on job workload (Std β = −0.326, P = 0.004) and academic performance (Std β = 0.394, P < 0.001), while their direct effects on psychological well-being became non-significant (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: Attitude towards AI acts as a psychological link between job workload, academic performance, and psychological well-being. Embracing a positive and confident attitude towards AI may help protect academicians’ psychological well-being amidst the changing atmosphere created by ongoing technological transformation.
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