<![CDATA[Work engagement has become a central concern of human resource management in cities where knowledge work, creative industries, and services drive the local economy. This study examined whether transformational leadership is associated with work engagement and whether psychological capital mediates that association among employees in Bandung City, Indonesia. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 212 employees working in creative industries, information technology, education, and hospitality. Transformational leadership was measured with the Global Transformational Leadership Scale, psychological capital with the Psychological Capital Questionnaire, and work engagement with the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Regression analysis and bootstrapped mediation analysis showed that transformational leadership was positively related to work engagement (B = 0.50, p < .001) and to psychological capital (B = 0.39, p < .001). Psychological capital was the strongest predictor of engagement (B = 0.73, p < .001) and partially mediated the leadership effect, with an indirect effect of 0.29 (95% CI [0.19, 0.39]) accounting for about 57% of the total effect. The findings suggest that leaders in Bandung organizations enhance engagement not only through inspiration and support but also by building employees' hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. Practical implications for leadership development and psychological capital interventions are discussed.]]>
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