The influence of work from home and work-life balance on job satisfaction mediated by work stress at the regional development planning agency (Bappeda) of South Tapanuli Regency
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study examines the relationships between Work From Home (WFH), Work-Life Balance (WLB), and Job Satisfaction, with Work Stress acting as a mediating variable among employees of the Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) of South Tapanuli Regency. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was employed, involving the entire population of 72 employees through a saturated sampling approach. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4.0. The results show that WFH was positively and significantly associated with Job Satisfaction, with a path coefficient of 0.267 and a p-value of 0.021, while WLB showed a positive and significant relationship with a coefficient of 0.341 and a p-value of 0.004. WFH and WLB were negatively associated with Work Stress, whereas Work Stress was negatively associated with Job Satisfaction. Work Stress partially mediated the relationships of WFH and WLB with Job Satisfaction, with indirect effects of 0.093 and 0.116, respectively. The model explained 71.2% of the variance in Job Satisfaction. These findings highlight the importance of flexible work arrangements, work-life balance, and effective stress management in supporting employee satisfaction in public-sector organizations.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Allen, T. D., Golden, T. D., & Shockley, K. M. (2015). How effective is telecommuting? Assessing the status of our scientific findings. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 16(2), 40–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100615593273
Aras, Y., Avc?, K., & Goktas, M. (2025). The mediating role of job satisfaction in the impact of quality of work life on organizational commitment and job performance. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-04-2025-0190
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2017). Job demands–resources theory: Taking stock and looking forward. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(3), 273–285. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000056
Boamah, S. A., & Laschinger, H. (2016). The influence of areas of worklife fit and work-life interference on burnout and turnover intentions among new graduate nurses. Journal of Nursing Management, 24(2), E164–E174. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12318
Chung, H., Birkett, H., Forbes, S., & Seo, H. (2021). COVID-19, flexible working, and implications for gender equality in the United Kingdom. Gender & Society, 35(2), 218–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/08912432211001304
Fadillah, N., & Wolor, C. W. (2020). Effectiveness of e-training, e-leadership, and work life balance on employee performance during COVID-19. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business.
Fisher, G. G., Bulger, C. A., & Smith, C. S. (2009). Beyond work and family: A measure of work/nonwork interference and enhancement. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14(4), 441–456. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016737
Gajendran, R. S., & Harrison, D. A. (2007). The good, the bad, and the unknown about telecommuting: Meta-analysis of psychological mediators and individual consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1524–1541. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.6.1524
Greenhaus, J. H., Collins, K. M., & Shaw, J. D. (2003). The relation between work–family balance and quality of life. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63(3), 510–531. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-8791(02)00042-8
Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
Henriques, C. S., & Samagaio, A. (2025). Impact of stress, job satisfaction, work–life balance and telework on auditors' job performance: A PLS-SEM and fsQCA approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 12(2), 328–350. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-03-2024-0135
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
Hilman, H., Edward, Y. R., & Faris, S. (2022). The effect of work life balance and work stress on performance with job satisfaction as intervening variables at the office of the Ministry of Religion, Selatan Tapanuli Regency. International Journal of Science, Technology & Management, 3(5), 1321–1328.
Karasek, R. A., Jr. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24(2), 285–308. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392498
Karatepe, O. M., Beirami, E., Bouzari, M., & Safavi, H. P. (2014). Does work engagement mediate the effects of challenge stressors on job outcomes? Evidence from the hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 36, 14–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2013.08.003
Khan, N., Aslam, R., Asad, M. M., Oad, L., & Almusharraf, N. M. (2022). Effects of WFH on educators' wellbeing: Mediating role of institutional head's support and moderating role of employees' self-efficacy at university level. Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 7(3), 305–326. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-10-2021-0063
Kismono, G., Paramita, W., & Lintang, G. B. (2023). Can acceptance promote life satisfaction during a work from home regime? The mediating role of work-life balance and job stress. Cogent Business & Management, 10(2), 2234130. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2234130
Kossek, E. E., & Lautsch, B. A. (2018). Work–life flexibility for whom? Occupational status and work–life inequality in upper, middle, and lower level jobs. Academy of Management Annals, 12(1), 5–36. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2016.0059
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer.
Luthans, F. (2011). Organizational behavior: An evidence-based approach (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Mungkasa, O. (2020). Bekerja dari rumah (working from home/WFH): Menuju tatanan baru era pandemi COVID-19. The Indonesian Journal of Development Planning, 4(2), 126–150. https://doi.org/10.36574/jpp.v4i2.119
Mustika, Y. A., & Azzuhri, M. (2025). Influence of physical work environment and stress on employee performance: The crucial role of job satisfaction. Jurnal Kewirausahaan dan Inovasi, 4(2), 587–609.
Purwanto, A., Asbari, M., Fahlevi, M., Mufid, A., Agistiawati, E., Cahyono, Y., & Suryani, P. (2020). Impact of work from home (WFH) on Indonesian teachers performance during the COVID-19 pandemic: An exploratory study. International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, 29(5), 6235–6244.
Rachmawati, A., & Susanto, A. H. (2024). Pengaruh work-life balance dan stres kerja terhadap kepuasan kerja pegawai startup PT. XYZ. Jurnal Manajemen dan Bisnis Madani, 6(2), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.51353/jmbm.v6i2.967
Rahman, H., & Singh, T. (2024). Technostress and work exhaustion: Unravelling the mediating role of work-family conflict in post-pandemic remote workers. International Journal of Applied Management Science, 16(3), 261–277. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJAMS.2024.140043
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2019). Organizational behavior (18th ed.). Pearson Education.
Santos, C., & Garibaldi de Hilal, A. V. (2020). The work-life interface and the role of HR: Employee experiences in Brazil. Community, Work & Family, 23(4), 439–456. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2018.1547270
Shamir, B., & Salomon, I. (1985). Work-at-home and the quality of working life. Academy of Management Review, 10(3), 455–464. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1985.4278957
Shirmohammadi, M., Au, W. C., & Beigi, M. (2022). Remote work and work-life balance: Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and suggestions for HRD practitioners. Human Resource Development International, 25(2), 163–181. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2022.2047380
Sugiyono. (2019). Metode penelitian kuantitatif, kualitatif, dan R&D. Alfabeta.
Terera, S. R., & Ngirande, H. (2014). The impact of rewards on job satisfaction and employee retention. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(1), 481–487. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n1p481