The aim of the current study was to investigate the impact of workplace stress on employee engagement within Iraqi universities through the mediator role of leadership style. Work-related stress and non-work-related stress were identified as representing workplace stress. Employee engagement has been measured through three types: social engagement, affective engagement, and intellectual engagement. Two types of leadership styles have been tested: directive and participative leadership. the structural equation Modeling was used to test the study model. A sample of 245 employees in Iraqi universities, including university professors, was targeted. Only 214 respondents participated in the survey. The results showed that non-work-related stress is the most influential factor in employee engagement. Furthermore, it has been found that the participative leadership style mediates the relationship between work-related and non-work-related stress and employee engagement. There is one exception; participative leadership did not mediate the impact of non-work-related stress on intellectual.
