AI-Augmented Leadership and Employee Well-Being in the MENA Region: Mediating Effects of Fairness and Psychological Safety and the Moderating Role of Authoritarian Leadership

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the influence of AI-enhanced leadership on employee well-being in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It examines the mediating role of psychological safety and perceived fairness of AI, and explores the moderating effect of authoritarian leadership styles. A quantitative study was conducted using data collected from a survey of 104 professionals in Tunisia, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. This research applied the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique to test the proposed conceptual framework. The results show that AI-augmented leadership has a positive impact on employee well-being. This relationship is partially mediated by psychological safety and perceptions of AI fairness. Furthermore, the presence of authoritarian leadership reduces the beneficial effects of AI-augmented leadership on reducing employee stress, suggesting that cultural norms of leadership influence the effectiveness of AI deployment. This research is among the first to empirically explore the intersection between AI technologies, leader behavior, and employee well-being in the underinvestigated context of the MENA region. It proposes a regionally based, human-centered model of technology leadership, thus addressing the pressing need for ethical and inclusive AI adoption frameworks in public and private organizations undergoing digital transformation.