ABSTRACT
Workaholism has been widely examined among employees across occupational groups, but limited empirical evidence is available on its association with work-related quality of life (WRQoL) among nursing educators. This study examined whether mindfulness statistically mediated the association between workaholism and WRQoL among nursing educators. A multisite observational study using a cross-sectional and correlational design was conducted among nursing educators from four nursing colleges in Saudi Arabia using consecutive and snowball sampling. Between February and July 2025, data were collected using three validated self-report scales. Structural equation modelling, mediation analysis, and path analysis were used to examine the hypothesised associations among the study variables. Workaholism was negatively associated with WRQoL (β
D
= −0.46, 95% CI = −0.63 to −0.29, p = 0.004) and mindfulness (β
D
= −0.41, 95% CI = −0.56 to −0.21, p = 0.004). Mindfulness was positively associated with WRQoL (β
D
= 0.35, 95% CI = 0.16 to 0.52, p = 0.004). A statistically significant indirect association was observed between workaholism and WRQoL through mindfulness, consistent with statistical mediation (β
I
= −0.15, 95% CI = −0.24 to −0.05, p = 0.004). In the final model, workaholism accounted for 17.10% of the variance in mindfulness, whereas workaholism and mindfulness together accounted for 46.60% of the variance in WRQoL. These findings suggest that higher workaholism is associated with lower mindfulness and WRQoL, while higher mindfulness is associated with better WRQoL among nursing educators. Although causal conclusions cannot be drawn and generalisability is limited by the non-probability sample, the results may inform institutional strategies in similar nursing education settings that address workaholic tendencies and support mindfulness-informed approaches to educator well-being.