Quality of Work Life and Work-Life Balance: The Mediating Roles of Job Stress, Job Satisfaction, and Commitment and Their Implications for Organizational Effectiveness

Abstract

Quality of work life (QWL) may shape employees’ ability to balance work and personal responsibilities, but the mechanisms linking these conditions to organizational outcomes require contextual examination. This study examined the effects of QWL on job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment; assessed the relationships of these mediators with work-life balance (WLB); tested their indirect effects; and evaluated the association between WLB and organizational effectiveness. A quantitative, explanatory, cross-sectional survey was conducted among civil servants at the Regional Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Southeast Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. From a population of 160 employees, 115 respondents were selected purposively based on work-related characteristics. The proposed relationships were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling with SmartPLS. QWL was positively associated with job stress (β = 0.467, p < 0.001), job satisfaction (β = 0.892, p < 0.001), and organizational commitment (β = 0.677, p < 0.001). Job stress (β = 0.119, p = 0.281) and job satisfaction (β = 0.154, p = 0.161) were not significantly associated with WLB, whereas commitment was positively associated with WLB (β = 0.575, p < 0.001). The indirect effects through job stress and job satisfaction were not significant; the indirect effect through commitment was significant (β = 0.389, p < 0.001), while the direct QWL–WLB effect was not significant (β = 0.042, p = 0.806), indicating full mediation in the tested model. WLB was positively associated with organizational effectiveness (β = 0.732, p < 0.001). These findings suggest that, in this public-sector setting, commitment is a key pathway connecting QWL with WLB, which in turn is associated with organizational effectiveness.