Abstract

This study explored the effects of workplace gaslighting on employees' mental health, focusing on the mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction-specifically autonomy, competence, and relatedness-within the work environment A total of 700 full-time employees in South Korea participated in a cross-sectional survey, and structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model. The findings revealed that workplace gaslighting significantly diminished the satisfaction of autonomy and relatedness needs, while competence was not notably impacted. Consequently, satisfaction in autonomy and relatedness was positively linked to subjective well-being and negatively correlated with depression and anxiety. Mediation analyses indicated that workplace gaslighting indirectly lowered subjective well-being by decreasing autonomy and relatedness satisfaction. Importantly, relatedness satisfaction emerged as a crucial mediator in mitigating the effects of gaslighting on depression and anxiety. These results emphasize the harmful effects of gaslighting on employees’ mental health and highlight the need for organizational practices that enhance psychological need satisfaction to create a healthier work environment.