THE MEDIATING ROLE OF JOB SATISFACTION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORK ENVIRONMENT AND LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE (A CASE STUDY OF ACADEMIC STAFF OF BAUCHI STATE UNIVERSITY, GADAU)

The general objective of this study is to examine the mediating role of job satisfaction on the relationship between work environment and Leadership Strategies on employee performance with specific focus to academic staff of Bauchi state university Gadau. This study employs a quantitative survey research design with deductive approach because it tries to test the causal relationship between the variables. The population of this study comprises four hundred (400) Academic staff of Bauchi State University Gadau; this information was obtained from BASUG 2024. Krejcie and Morgan table for calculating sample size was used to calculate the sample size of the respondents. From the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) for the population of 400, a sample size of 196 is appropriate. The sampling technique used in this study is stratified and simple random sampling. The study will use quantitative method of gathering data which will be done through QuestionnaireThe data analysis technique used in this study is path analysis with direct effect and indirect effect testing. The results showed that leadership has a positive and significant effect on job satisfaction, the Work environment has a positive and significant effect on job satisfaction, has a positive and significant effect on employee performance, the work environment has a positive and significant effect on employee performance, leadership job satisfaction has a negative and insignificant effect on employee performance, leadership through job satisfaction has a positive and significant effect on employee performance, work environment through job satisfaction has a negative and insignificant effect on employee performance. Base on the findings of the study the following recommendations were made: Create a positive and inclusive culture and provide a comfortable and safe physical space for Nigerian universities and Bauchi state university in particular., encourage open communication and feedback and foster collaboration and teamwork and recognize and reward employees' achievements and provide opportunities for growth and development.