Subang — Heavy workloads can undermine work-life balance and sustainable employee performance, while a supportive work environment produces the opposite effect. This finding was reported by Susi Rugun Munthe and Tine Yuliantini from the Master of Management Program, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Mercu Buana, through a 2026 study of employees at the Department of Education and Culture of Subang Regency. The study involved 154 employees from a population of 250 and found that work-life balance serves as an important link between working conditions and employees’ ability to maintain performance over time.
Sustainable employee performance has become increasingly important in public organizations because public service quality cannot depend solely on short-term target achievement. Employees must also be able to maintain productivity, adapt to changing demands, and perform their responsibilities consistently without exhausting their capacity to work in the future.
This issue is particularly relevant to the Department of Education and Culture of Subang Regency, which plays a strategic role in education and cultural services. The organization’s 2024 performance report recorded an average achievement of 98.68 percent. However, the indicator for educators and education personnel meeting the Minimum Service Standard reached only 91 percent of the 100 percent target. This gap indicates that strong overall organizational performance does not necessarily mean that every performance dimension has reached its target.
The study also identified fluctuations in employee attendance between June and November 2025. Employee numbers, working days, lateness, and absence categories varied during the period. These changes provided an initial context for examining how workload and workplace conditions relate to employees’ ability to maintain performance.
Susi Rugun Munthe and Tine Yuliantini examined four main aspects: workload, work environment, work-life balance, and sustainable employee performance. Workload was viewed as a job demand requiring employees to invest time, energy, and attention. The work environment, meanwhile, was treated as a resource that can help employees manage those demands through adequate facilities, effective communication, supportive relationships, and constructive supervision.
The researchers used a quantitative approach to examine the relationships among the variables. The population consisted of 250 active permanent employees at the Department of Education and Culture of Subang Regency. A total of 154 employees were selected through simple random sampling, and all collected questionnaires were usable for analysis. Data were collected through a five-point questionnaire and analyzed using SEM-PLS with SmartPLS 4.
The results show that all five direct relationships tested were statistically significant. Workload had a negative effect on sustainable employee performance, with a coefficient of -0.179 and a significance level of 0.004. This means that increasing job demands can make it more difficult for employees to maintain consistent performance over time.
In contrast, the work environment had a positive effect on sustainable employee performance, with a coefficient of 0.160 and a significance level of 0.007. Adequate facilities, clear communication, positive workplace relationships, and a supportive atmosphere can help employees deal with job demands more effectively.
Workload also had a negative effect on work-life balance. Its coefficient reached -0.354, with a significance level below 0.001. The finding indicates that heavier work demands can reduce the time and energy employees have available for family, social, and personal roles.
The work environment, meanwhile, had a positive effect on work-life balance, with a coefficient of 0.385 and a significance level below 0.001. A supportive work environment can reduce workplace barriers and help employees manage their psychological resources and time more effectively between work and non-work responsibilities.
The strongest direct relationship was found between work-life balance and sustainable employee performance. The coefficient reached 0.561, with a significance level below 0.001. This was the largest direct effect in the model, indicating that employees’ ability to maintain balance between work and personal life is a major factor supporting consistent long-term performance.
Work-life balance also served as a mediator between working conditions and performance. The indirect effect of workload on sustainable employee performance through work-life balance was -0.199, with a significance level below 0.001. Meanwhile, the indirect effect of work environment through work-life balance reached 0.216, also with a significance level below 0.001. Both pathways represent partial mediation because the corresponding direct effects remained significant after work-life balance was included in the model.
The research model explained 28.6 percent of the variance in work-life balance and 53.5 percent of the variance in sustainable employee performance. The adjusted R² values were 27.7 percent and 52.6 percent, respectively. Work-life balance also recorded the largest effect size on sustainable employee performance, with an f² value of 0.480, demonstrating its strong role in the model.
The findings have practical implications for public organizations. Performance management should not focus solely on increasing the volume of work or the number of targets. Institutions need to ensure that workloads match employee capacity, prioritize tasks when multiple assignments compete for attention, and reduce repetitive administrative work through appropriate digital systems.
Workplace improvements should also go beyond physical facilities. Effective communication, teamwork, supportive supervision, and coordination across units need to operate together. A better physical workplace may not produce sustainable benefits if work processes remain poorly coordinated or interpersonal support remains weak.
The researchers also emphasize the importance of managing overtime, additional assignments, deadlines, and task priorities. Workload is not merely an individual time-management issue because organizational decisions about task allocation directly shape employees’ ability to maintain their lives outside work.
Susi Rugun Munthe and Tine Yuliantini concluded that heavy workloads can disrupt work-life balance while reducing sustainable employee performance. In contrast, a supportive work environment can strengthen both outcomes. Work-life balance should therefore be integrated into human resource management because it helps preserve employees’ energy, concentration, motivation, and adaptive capacity, enabling them to maintain performance over time.
The study is limited to one local government institution and uses cross-sectional data. Future research could test the model in other public and private organizations, use longitudinal observations, and examine additional factors such as perceived organizational support, leadership style, work flexibility, work stress, psychological well-being, employee engagement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment.
Authors
Susi Rugun Munthe — Universitas Mercu Buana, Indonesia
Tine Yuliantini — Universitas Mercu Buana, Indonesia
Research Source
Title: The Effects of Workload and Work Environment on Sustainable Employee Performance: The Mediating Role of Work-Life Balance at the Department of Education and Culture of Subang Regency
Journal: International Journal of Scientific Multidisciplinary Research (IJSMR), Vol. 4 No. 8, 2026, pages 1661–1676.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55927/ijsmr.v4i8.148
Journal Link: https://journalijsmr.my.id/index.php/ijsmr
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