THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF HEEDFUL INTERRELATING ON SELF DETERMINATION AND THRIVING AT WORK AMONG UNIVERSITY FACULTY MEMBERS

Objective: The objective of this study is to empirically examine the mediating effect of heedful interrelating on the direct effect of self-determination and thriving at work among university faculty members. Theoretical Framework: The organismic human integration philosophy forms the theoretical underpinning for the study. The conceptual model is built by integrating self-determination theory (SDT) with the theory of heedful interrelating. Method: Following an explanatory research design, data from 396 university faculty members PAN India was used to test the conceptual model with the PLS-SEM bootstrapping technique. Results and Discussion: The findings validate a significant direct influence of self-determination on thriving at work. Furthermore, there exists a significant mediation effect of heedful interrelating between self-determination and thriving at work. Through causal mediation, it is interpreted that self-determined and autonomously motivated behaviors, stemming from the satisfaction of universal basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, play a pivotal role in fostering heed-based behavior within an individual. Research Implications: This empirical study validated the organismic integration theory of human nature in the academic sector through the positive direct effect. Implications for the sample of university faculty members suggest the use of heedful interrelating during group tasks through the dimensions of contributing, representing, and sub-ordinating. Originality/Value:


INTRODUCTION
The Indian academic environment has been influenced by the progressive socioeconomic scenario of the nation.This has led to an upgradation in the operational dynamics and working style of university faculty members, with a focus on intellectual achievement and collaborative team endeavors.University faculty members are operationally defined as highly qualified professionals with job titles ranging from assistant professors, associate professors, and professors, designated by the respective academic institutions of employment to lead and contribute to intellectual pursuits within their areas of academic expertise, both individually and in collaboration.Through both their individual work goals and group collaborative commitments, faculty members leverage to enrich academic scholarship, contributing to the benefit of both the academic community and broader society.
Given these evolving circumstances and being constantly in an environment that requires collaboration in exercising multifaceted work roles and tasks, academicians can be in diverse psychological states of being within the sphere of their professional engagements.As posited by Sprietzer et al. (2005), the desired state of thriving at work is a positive psychological being characterized by both vitality and learning.Within this framework, employees can perceive and self-gauge their current work experiences, actions, and behaviors as intrinsically motivating, conducive to their self-development and personal growth.In the event of teamwork and group functioning, not being able to coordinate individual responsibilities and worktasks alongside group work goals manifests as maladaptive behavioral responses and ineffective functioning, indicating a state contrary to thriving.
One of the core psychosocial tenets regarding human nature posited in the organismic growth philosophy views human nature to be inherently proactive and agentic.This perspective posits that individuals possess an innate capacity to actively engage with their surroundings and pursue their objectives, thereby exerting influence over their social contexts and achieving mastery within them.When in a social context, self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000;Spreitzer & Porath, 2014) posits that human progression and thriving are realized through the satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness.4 Bijlsma-Frankema et al. (2008) emphasize that practicing heedful behavior fosters high-quality interpersonal interactions, relationships, and team performance.In line with the theory of heedful interrelating (Weick & Roberts, 1993), the behavior of heed through heedful interrelating enables individuals to manage, balance, and coordinate both individual work goals and group goals through the three facets of contributing, representing, and subordinating (Stephens & Lyddy, 2016).The tenets of both theories focus on how individuals use the support of their engaging environment and others to achieve forward momentum.
The problem statement investigates whether exercising heedful interrelating when functioning in group tasks would facilitate an improvement in individuals' functioning and learning, incrementing the positive state of thriving among university faculty members.Heedful interrelating in group functioning has been proposed as a self-empowering antidote to maladaptive and ineffective group functioning.Exploring the concept of heedful interrelating among university teaching faculty holds relevance for enhancing quality interactions and fostering effective team collaboration, facilitating better outcomes for the individual and the group.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Extant psychology literature points out the emergence of the state of thriving in response to adversity or trauma (Carver, 1998) and draws comparisons to resilience.The current study deals with the viewpoint that thriving is an everyday experience regarding how people interact with their environment (Blankenship, 1998).Sonenshein et al. (2005)  Different factors predispose individuals to experience varying levels of thriving in the workplace.One of which is the extent to which the basic universal psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness are satisfied within the social context of the engaging workspace as mentioned in the self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985b, 2000).
The self-determination theory posits that the extent of satisfaction of the three psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness generates autonomous motivation that enables one to sustain progression irrespective of the changes in the working context.This is possible 5 by the phenomenon of internalization of extrinsic motivation supplementing the intrinsic motivation towards one's work (Deci & Ryan, 2000).Spreitzer & Porath (2014) state that the surrounding context affects thriving at work through the purview of the self-determination theory.Ryan & Deci (2000) argue the influence of the social context on the state of thriving as people pursue conditions that foster their growth and development.Spreitzer & Porath (2014) combined self-determination theory with the socially embedded model of thriving at work to build an integrative model of human growth at work based on the viewpoint that thriving is nurtured from the nutriments of self-determination where experiencing a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness facilitates more thriving at work.Findings from Porath et al. (2012) showed that the three dimensions of self-determination (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) explained a variance of 54% in thriving from a sample of six organizations (n=335) where each of the dimensions of self-determination predicted both the vitality (affective) and learning (cognitive) dimensions of thriving.Based on the above-existent relationship between self-determination and thriving at work, the authors of the study apply it to the sample of faculty members working in private universities in India through the hypothesis (H1) stated below:

Hypothesis (H1):
There is significant influence of self-determination on thriving at work among faculty members working in private universities in India.
Motivation literature shows that self-determination, the manifestation of autonomous motivation through the satisfaction of the three psychological needs, are a precursor to effective performance, workplace adjustment, and well-being across employees with varied demographics and employed in different occupations.A philosophical ontology attached to the self-determination theory, known as the dialectic gap, indicates that the same social context that nurtures optimal workplace functioning through the satisfaction of basic psychological needs also has elements that thwart it, resulting in lower levels of motivation, maladaptive responses, and ineffective functioning (Deci & Ryan, 2014).Within the domain of private universities and colleges, Wang (2018) points out a dialectic gap.One of the macro reasons for this dialectic is the developmental pressures on private universities and colleges in line with the economic and industrial demands of the external business environment and labor market passing down to the grassroots of employee functioning.In this context, with a well-intended belief in ensuring progressive performance and work discipline, private educational providers use external controls and contingencies.However, these measures often impede educators' natural tendency towards vitality and learning in the workplace (Vansteenkiste et al., 2010;Dasgupta & Kumar, The Mediating Effect of Heedful Interrelating on Self Determination and Thriving at Work Among University Faculty Members distributing their attention across their actions and the actions of others.Through this manner of engagement, team members access the information needed to be responsive, or shape their behaviors in ways that fit others.More precisely, heedful interrelating is witnessed when individual team members distribute their attention, responsively communicate (contributing) with others, and coordinate (subordinating) their concerted actions, to form a meaningful pattern of collective action that participants experience as a tacit sense or feeling of acting as a unit (representing).
Heedful interrelating, originally coined and developed by Weick & Roberts (1993) explains how the quality, behavior, and attitude of heed can help to facilitate effective team coordination.According to Stephens & Lyddy (2016), heed is "established and maintained while interrelating by putting into action executive attention, which helps team members of a workgroup balance multiple pieces of information in a deliberate manner".This mode of attention facilitates behavioral regulation, and behavioral adaptation to suit contextual conditions and facilitates goal fulfillment (Baumeister & Heatherton, 1996).Heed, manifested as heedful interrelating in team coordination and team functioning has implications of better team performance, innovative work behavior, and thriving at work (Stephens & Lyddy, 2016;Bijlsma-Frankema et al., 2008;Riaz et al., 2019).Bandura (2001) explains that individuals who act agentically with attentiveness are purposeful and have mastery over their own actions.This agentic, intentional, self-directed conduct is more inclined to foster vitality and facilitate the acquisition of knowledge in the workplace compared to reactive, prescribed behavior.
Heedful interrelating is suggested as a bridge to SDT's dialectic gap that causes maladaptive and ineffective functioning.Considering the existing relationship between heedful interrelating 7 and thriving at work, the authors aim to test it on the sample of faculty members working in private universities in India.

Hypothesis (H2):
There is significant influence of heedful interrelating on thriving at work among faculty members working in private universities in India.
A seminal empirical study by Bijlsma-Frankema et al. (2008) points out that apart from monitoring and control as factors that promote the performance of individuals and teams, heed based on the theory of heedful interrelating (Weick & Roberts, 1993) functions as a promising and relevant mediating factor and behavior, promoting both individual and group performance.
The authors propose that heed, a quality of behavior can be linked to the relatedness dimension of the self-determination theory by integrating self-determination theory with the theory of heedful interrelating.The evolved innate psychological need for relatedness was introduced alongside autonomy and competence, following the seminal works of SDT's organismic integration theory (OIT; Ryan, 1995;Deci & Ryan, 2014).From the OIT perspective, individuals have a natural tendency to internalize social norms, customs, and regulations, converting them into personal values and self-regulations in order to cultivate a more sophisticated, cohesive self-concept (Ryan, 1995).The need for relatedness comes into play in response to this natural tendency.Martela & Riekki (2018) operationally define relatedness as follows: it denotes aspects of one's interpersonal dimension, reflecting the extent to which one is able to be connected to others and experience reciprocal and meaningful involvements and experiences.
The need for relatedness is characterized as an inherent propensity, an experience, a desire, a willingness to develop a sense of connectedness and belongingness when hustling to co-ordinate and achieve in a social context.The implications of this are meaningful relationships, tendencies for growth and exploration, emotional security, reciprocal care, and cooperation.Factors through which relatedness is manifested are in the extent of being connected to others, being able to integrate oneself into the social matrix and benefit from the interaction, establishing stable, nurturing, and protective relationships, to love and care, being loved, and cared for, being trusting of and co-operating (Baumeister & Leary, 1995;Cerasoli et al., 2016;Shahar et al., 2003;Martin & Dowson, 2009;Campbell et al., 2015;Reeve et al., 2018).
Considering the importance of this perspective of socialization in the social context of the workplace where cosmopolitan characteristics exist and employees need to be part of the coordinated efforts to achieve task completion, the current study proposes heed as a factor 8 among others as a manifestation of satisfying the need for relatedness while interrelating to achieve individual and group goals.Based on this argument, the hypothesis is tested by linking self-determination having the dimension of relatedness with heed as one of its dimensions to the act of heedful interrelating.

Hypothesis (H3):
There is significant influence of self-determination on heedful interrelating among faculty members working in private universities in India.
As defined by Weick & Roberts (1993), heed is not a behavior; rather it refers to how behaviors are enacted by an individual in a group or team.Interpersonal interactions assembled with heed are mindful and alert.A lack of mindfulness manifested in the form of automatic, poorly regulated behaviors restricts and delays task and goal achievement (Baumeister & Heatherton, 1996).When individuals fail to consider how their actions align with the requirements of a task and the situation at hand, they encounter difficulties in behaving appropriately, consequently hindering their performance that is relevant to the organization (Smallwood & Schooler, 2015).
A sense of relatedness plays a significant role by which higher education learning communities improve learning outcomes (Beachboard et al., 2011).Heed, hence contributes cognitively and affectively towards an individual's desired state of being.Spritzer et al. (2005) identify this state to be called thriving at work with dimensions of learning and vitality.Weick & Roberts (1993) propose that when there is more heed reflected in member interactions, the greater is the team's capacity to reduce process error and adapt effectively to evolving needs and unexpected events capturing the sense and state of thriving.Druskat & Pescosolido (2002) also point out that team members' inability to use heed in one's interaction contributed to high levels of interpersonal conflict and resulted in the need for frequent supervisory intervention.
Based on the above literature findings, the researchers propose a conceptual model (see The Mediating Effect of Heedful Interrelating on Self Determination and Thriving at Work Among University Faculty

Conceptual model
The aim of the study is to validate the conceptual model that intends to promote individual empowerment and improved group dynamics through heedful interrelating.The statistical objective is to determine the mediating effect of heedful interrelating on the direct effect of self-determination and thriving at work.

METHOD
The study followed an explanatory research design using a quantitative method of research inquiry.Four hypotheses were tested to validate the conceptual model (see Figure 1).
Data was collected from a sample of assistant professors, associate professors, and professors working in private universities in India.The UGC state-wise list of private universities as of 04-03-2022 enumerated a total of 403 private universities PAN India and was used as the sampling frame.The cluster sampling design procedure was initiated using the zonal maps of India for 2022 by which the states of India were categorized into six distinct geographical zones, each zone representing a cluster of states (see Table 1).A sample size of 384 university faculty members was determined using the Krejcie & Morgan (1970)  were done on the dataset.

Table 1
Zonal division of Indian states 11

Table 3
Scales of measurement

RESULTS
Two sets of sample data were generated from the questionnaire: demographic data (nonmetric data) and scale data (metric data).The demographic data reflect the characteristics of the study respondents.Scale data were generated from the Likert-scale items within the measurement scales for the latent variables.To better present the context of the study and the respondents' profiles, the demographic data were summarized in tabular form (see Table 4).

Table 4
Demographic distribution of sample profile  12 4.1 PLS-SEM TECHNIQUE The latent variables in the conceptual model were studied as reflective-reflective higherorder constructs.Within the PLS-SEM version 3 application software, the proposed conceptual model was evaluated by presenting it as a combination of the outer measurement model and the inner structural model.elements of the two models are estimated and tested for significance whereby explaining the strength the relationships between the latent variables and its dimensions.The estimation method used ordinary least square (OLS) regression.PLS-SEM analysis was conducted only further to the dataset's compliance with the OLS assumptions of having a random sampling of observations, linearity in parameters, with constant error variance (all VIF values lie above the cut-off value of 0.1), multicollinearity, autocorrelation, endogeneity not being found and common method bias from the adopted research design to be nil (all VIF values lie below the said value of 3.3).

Measurement Model Assessment
Measurement model assessment verified the reliability and validity of the construct measures facilitating to make a decision on which items or factors of the construct are to be included in the path model.The assessment was done using the following metrics: outer factor loadings, internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability rhoC, reliability coefficient rhoA), convergent validity (average variance extracted), and discriminant validity (Fornell Larcker, Heterotrait-monotrait ratio of correlations).Referring to Figure 2, for the study dataset, the factor loading of all the items for the latent variables was above 0.6, and hence retained for further analysis.Referring to Table 4, most of the values for the internal consistency reliability exceed the recommended value of 0.70 (Hair et al., 2021).All values for average variance extracted (AVE) exceeded the recommended value of 0.5 showing that the construct explains more than 50% of the variance of its items (Hair et al., 2019) which establishes convergent validity.14 the intercorrelation of values between the construct in their corresponding row and column.
Heterotrait Monotrait ratio of correlation (HTMT) for discriminant validity (See Table 6) showed all values to be lesser than 0.90 confirming the constructs are conceptually distinct (Hair et al., 2019).The above findings (Tables 5, 6, and 7) of the measurement model assessment showed that reliability and validity exist for the construct measures and hence structural path modeling assessment was performed.

Structural Model Evaluation and Testing of Hypotheses
Testing of the hypotheses was conducted in the structural model evaluation stage.Figure 2 shows the inner structural model representing the relationships between the variables.

Table 8
Structural model assessment using bootstrapping estimates -Testing direct effect Table 9 Structural model assessment using bootstrapping estimates-Testing Indirect effect

H1
There is significant influence of self determination on thriving at work

Model quality measures
Tables 8 and 9 show the four hypotheses (H1, H2, H3, H4) that were set for testing the significance of the relationships.The magnitude of the path coefficient (β) show the strength of the connection between the latent variables and carries meaning only if the path coefficient is statistically significant.A bootstrapping procedure with 5000 resampling with replacement was conducted that generated bootstrapping estimates (t-statistics, p-value) which enabled testing for the significance of the hypotheses relationships and path coefficient.Direct effect (H1, H2, H3) and indirect effect (H4) between the variables were significant at 5% level of significance as shown in Tables 8 and 9.The model quality measures ( 16

Figure 2
Partial least square path modeling of latent construct relationships

DISCUSSION
Statistical findings from the inferential data analysis empirically supported the first alternative hypothesis stating there is a significant influence of self-determination on thriving at work among faculty members working in private universities in India.Multiple evidences from the literature support the positive direct effect of self-determination or need satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness on thriving at work across different samples (Porath et al., 2012;Gagné & Vansteenkiste, 2013;Spreitzer & Porath, 2014;Reeve et al., 2023).
This statistical evidence verifies the key proposition of self-determination theory which posits that human beings have deeply evolved psychological needs to be competent, through the need for satisfaction of competence and autonomy (Sheldon et al., 1996).The manifestation of maladaptive behavioral responses and ineffective functioning can be attributed to a lack within the relatedness dimension of self-determination.Relatedness refers to the need to feel connected to others and to experience a sense of belonging.When this need is not met, it can lead to negative outcomes.
The second statistical finding that heedful interrelating statistically influences thriving at work also supports literature (Abid et al., 2016;Riaz et al., 2019;Sia & Duari, 2018).This positive link points out the importance of relational resources (interrelating) within workgroups (social capital) in gaining know-how and support for task completion.Within an organizational context, Styhre et al. (2008) point out that social capital is the ability of co-workers to interrelate heedfully and link it to the theory of heedful interrelating (Weick & Roberts, 1993).Nahapiet & Ghoshal (1998) explain social capital as knowledge ingrained within, available through, and utilized by interactions among individuals and their web of interrelationships.The authors propose to link these insights of social capital and heedful interrelating to the relatedness dimension of self-determination and hence to the concept of heed.
Heed is suggested as an antidote to the negative outcomes by way of lack of relatedness.
To empirically validate the role of heed in the relatedness dimension, the mediation effect is determined.The fourth statistical finding shows the positive mediation effect of heedful interrelating on the direct effect relationship between self-determination and thriving at work.This validates the thought that it is ultimately the extent of heedful interrelating that enables a self-determined mindset to thrive in a social context through exercising the mindset and attitude of heed.Within this mediation effect, the third alternate hypothesis exists supporting the positive direct effect of self-determination on heedful interrelating.Applying the principles of causal mediation, it can be attributed that self-determination causes heedful Further studies can explore the practical applications of the philosophy and practice of heed across genres of work domains, contributing to the development of the human dimension of organizational sustainability.
evidence that thriving can occur at work during everyday moments with employees being able to provide at least one narrative of their own experience of thriving at work.The extent of thriving based on Spreitzer & Porath's (2014) conceptualization, exists on a continuum meaning that individuals can experience varying degrees of thriving at different times.
creating a dilemma with respect to achieving intellectual growth and self-development versus meeting the performance requirements set by university management.To analyze the problem of maladaptive behavior responses and ineffective functioning stemming from the above-mentioned imbalance and a lack of co-ordination in simultaneously achieving both, which the authors classify as individual work goals and group work goals, the authors apply the insights drawn from the theory of heedful interrelating.They consider the operational definition provided by Stephens & Lyddy (2016) for the three facets of heedful interrelating -contributing, representing, and subordinating.This definition fills a void in coordination research by addressing how team members can simultaneously manage individual behavioral contributions and represent the whole system of the team's work during group-based functioning.The first facet of heedful interrelating, contributing, occurs via individuals when

Figure 1 )
Figure 1) as a solution to the problem of maladaptive behavior responses and ineffective functioning due to an imbalance of exercising workplace goals and group work commitments.The conceptual model argues that when autonomously motivated by the satisfaction of the three innate psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, a person is energized to agentically behave.Heed and heedful interrelating represent agentic behaviors promoting positive outcomes.The mediating effect hypothesis is stated below: Hypothesis (H4): Heedful interrelating mediates the relationship between selfdetermination and thriving at work among faculty members working in private universities in India.
** for significance at p < 0.05 level Source: PLS-SEM Bootstrapping output Hypothesis The Mediating Effect of Heedful Interrelating on Self Determination and Thriving at Work Among University Faculty Members ___________________________________________________________________________ Rev. Gest.Soc.Ambient.| Miami | v.18.n.5 | p.1-24 | e06809 | 2024.15 Table 10 autonomous, and related to others, such that in situations where these needs are satisfied, individuals are autonomously motivated leading to higher thriving.It can also be ascertained that the study sample of faculty members engage in their work tasks based on principles of internalization and intrinsic motivation.With respect to internalization, accepting the values The Mediating Effect of Heedful Interrelating on Self Determination and Thriving at Work Among University Faculty Members ___________________________________________________________________________ Rev. Gest.Soc.Ambient.| Miami | v.18.n.5 | p.1-24 | e06809 | 2024.17 and norms of work conduct would allow more representation and connectivity with the organization and its leadership facilitating increased engagement, productivity, and overall satisfaction with work.With respect to intrinsic motivation, passion for assigned tasks comes interrelating and thriving at work simultaneously.A lack in relatedness can be attributed to the function of heed.Mediation, which is causal, empirically validates the behavior of heed as a new factor in the relatedness dimension of self-determination.Support for a similar mediation effect is seen inBijlsma-Frankema et al. (2008) which state that heed through the process of heedful interrelating facilitated to improve the performance of self-managing teams.An important implication of the mediation finding comes from the study byRiaz et al. (2019) which states that the exercise of heed is beneficial when the relational ties among employees are weak.Activities based on heed can improve the ability of employees to work together, assuring that heed, among others, can facilitate the satisfaction of the psychological need for relatedness, improving further self-determined actions and responses overcoming ineffective functioning and its related maladaptive responses.Implications for the sample of university faculty members suggest the use of heedful interrelating during group tasks through the dimensions of contributing, representing, and subordinating.The repercussions of maladaptive behavioral responses and ineffective functioning can be addressed through acts of contribution as explained byDaniel & Vaughn (2010), when individuals in a group task offer new ideas or critiques of ideas to one another allowing to exercise their competence.Through representing, one envisions the other's contributions.Subordinating can be seen when individuals consent to a plan that they did not initiate, but which serves the greater purpose of achieving a goal showcasing a cooperative mindset whereby achieving group commitments.When heed becomes a part of self-determination, it would only require a mindful and conscientious effort to improve autonomous motivation.This is validated by the suggestion given by Riyanto et al. (2021) that responsibility lies with the organization and its entities to encourage behaviours that facilitate goal achievements in line with the theory of selfdetermination.Vesso & Alas (2016) mention the 3C Model where a coaching culture within the organization would enable to introduce the characteristics and manner of heedful interrelating among members of the team.In tracing the evolution of the self-determination theory (SDT), it was found that in 1971, Edward Deci, a seminal figure in SDT, noted a form of human functioning that created a paradigm shift in viewing intrinsic motivation leading to cognitive evaluation theory, the first theory in SDT.Following this came a new viewpoint of internalization by the co-proponent of the self-determination theory, Richard Ryan in 1975, concerning extrinsic motivation leading to the organismic integration theory which was introduced to understand human social behavior.The meta-theory of self-determination reaches its sixth paradigm with the relationships motivation theory (RMT,Deci & Ryan, 2014).Although the sixth theory of SDT recognizes relatedness at its core(Knee & Brown, 2023),Wang et al. (2019) point out that SDT-based relatedness is one of the most ignored psychological needs in the SDT literature.In line with this literature gap, the findings of this research study answer the research question that exercising heed, manifested as heedful interrelating, can satisfy the need for relatedness, The Mediating Effect of Heedful Interrelating on Self Determination and Thriving at Work Among University Faculty Members ___________________________________________________________________________ Rev. Gest.Soc.Ambient.| Miami | v.18.n.5 | p.1-24 | e06809 | 2024.19 promoting further thriving at work.With limited studies available to understand the human dimension of organizational sustainability measured through the metric of thriving at work, the present study adds to the literature by combining the theory of heedful interrelating and the socially embedded model of thriving at work.Across literature, the dimension of relatedness has been explained with regard to factors that express a tone of positivity and warm bonding.Through this research investigation, a factor that resonates with mindfulness, being cautious, attentive, and alert, demonstrating executive attention in the form of heed is validated empirically augmenting the dimension of relatedness when functioning in a social context.6 CONCLUSION Self-determination theory continuously evolves by incorporating new perspectives on human functioning to elucidate human motivation and behavior within social contexts.The theory has been under development and growing over the past forty years, following the seminal work of Edward Deci and Richard Ryan.In this context, Vansteenkiste et al. (2010) introduced the concept of the "SDT puzzle" to capture this ongoing quest to fully understand and predict human motivation, behavior, and functioning within the purview of the self-determination theory.This study makes two significant original theoretical contributions to the SDT literature and to the SDT puzzle, firstly, by adding heed as a novel indicator to self-determination theory's relatedness dimension and secondly, by validating the role of heedful interrelating in bridging the dialectic gap within the self-determination theory.This study leveraged the established associations of two direct effects: selfdetermination with thriving at work, and heedful interrelating with thriving at work to propose the integration of heed behavior to SDT's relatedness dimension as a means to increment thriving at work.Acknowledged as both a skill and a mindset, heed constitutes a novel contribution, possessing prospective applications in nurturing self-determined behaviors, autonomous motivation, and collaborative teamwork facilitating thriving at work.The state of thriving at work has multifaceted positive outcomes for the individual, group, and organization.Heed intervention as a self-empowering approach is advised in the facets of an academician's work when hustling to achieve both individual goals and group goals.It can be attributed that the quality of leadership in its various forms, especially as an influencer and change agent would be facilitated by the contributing, representing, and sub-ordinating dimensions of heedful interrelating.This empirically mediating research study validates that heed and heedful The Mediating Effect of Heedful Interrelating on Self Determination and Thriving at Work Among University Faculty Members ___________________________________________________________________________ Rev. Gest.Soc.Ambient.| Miami | v.18.n.5 | p.1-24 | e06809 | 2024.20 interrelating are pervasive in nature empowering an academician to juggle their variant roles.
table.Proportionate method was used to calculate sample size of faculty members for each zonal division (see Table2).Online survey using Google Form questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents.Standard and reliable scales of measurement were used for the study (see Table3).Ethical proceduresThe Mediating Effect of Heedful Interrelating on Self Determination and Thriving at Work Among University Faculty Members were followed during the conduct of the survey.Valid responses were received from 396 university faculty members.The response rate for the online e-mail survey conducted from September 2022 to November 2022 was 22.65% (see Table 2).Both descriptive statistical ___________________________________________________________________________ Rev. Gest.Soc.Ambient.| Miami | v.18.n.5 | p.1-24 | e06809 | 2024.10 analysis (percentages) and inferential statistical analysis (PLS-SEM bootstrapping technique)

Table 7
Discriminant validity(Fornell Larcker Values)Referring to Table7, discriminant validity using the Fornell-Larcker criterion met the condition where the square root of each construct's AVE in the diagonal matrix is greater than