The present study aimed to model the quality of life of employed women based on perceived job security, job stress, and hardiness, with the mediating role of depression.

The research was conducted using a correlational design and structural equation modeling among employed women in Tehran. The statistical population consisted of female employees working in formal, contractual, and corporate sectors, of whom 288 participants were selected as the study sample. Data were collected using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (1996), the Job Security Scale (1376), the Osipow Occupational Stress Questionnaire (1987), the Kobasa Hardiness Scale (1982), and the depression subscale of the DASS-21 (1995).

The findings indicated that perceived job security was a significant positive predictor of quality of life, whereas depression and hardiness showed significant negative direct effects on quality of life. Job stress also demonstrated a significant association with quality of life. Path analysis further revealed that depression played a significant mediating role in the relationship between perceived job security and hardiness with quality of life; however, this mediating role was not supported for the relationship between job stress and quality of life. The final model explained 52% of the variance in quality of life.

The quality of life of employed women appears to depend not merely on occupational pressures but also on access to job-related resources and adaptive personal characteristics. Perceived job security and adaptive personality traits improve quality of life through reducing depression, whereas job stress primarily influences individuals’ subjective evaluation of life directly.