On 17 September 2026, Sadaf Saeed defended her PhD thesis, entitled The effect of supportive leadership style on work motivation and job performance of secondary school teachers in Pakistan, at the Faculty of Education Boardroom of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB).
The thesis, supervised by Dr Patricia Olmos Rueda, analyses the relationship between job demands, emotional exhaustion, motivation and professional performance among secondary school teachers in Pakistan, as well as the role that supportive leadership can play in relation to these variables.
The research is framed within the Job Demands-Resources Theory (JD-R) and specifically examines the impact of factors such as role ambiguity, time pressure and workload on teachers’ work motivation and job performance. It also examines emotional exhaustion as a mediating variable and supportive leadership style as a moderating variable.
To conduct the study, data were collected through a survey of 722 teachers from public and private secondary schools in Pakistan, teaching grades 9 and 10. The data were analysed using the PLS-SEM (Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling) method, based on a five-point Likert scale.
The results show that the job demands analysed significantly contribute to reducing teachers’ work motivation and professional performance. Likewise, emotional exhaustion has a significant negative impact on both variables and plays a mediating role in the relationship between job demands, motivation and performance.
The research also highlights the role of supportive leadership style, which moderates the relationship between job demands and emotional exhaustion. In this regard, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationships between working conditions, professional well-being and educational leadership, as well as the similarities and differences between public and private sector schools in Pakistan.
The thesis committee consisted of Dr Mireia Tintoré Espuny, chair; Dr Cecilia Ines Suarez Rivarola, secretary; and Dr Daniel Pattier Bocos, member.
Consult the thesis here.
