The Impact of Autonomy, Workload and Work Life Balance on Job Performance of Support Staff
Abstract
Job performance is crucial for a company's success, especially for support staff, who are the core of government entities. The effectiveness and efficiency of government services are often underestimated and underappreciated. The relationship between autonomy, workload, and work-life balance is complex, with excessive labor leading to stress and pressure. However, a balance between autonomy, workload, and work-life can lead to engaged and productive staff, enhancing job performance. A decrease in job performance among support personnel is a significant concern that must be addressed to ensure employee work-life balance. Employers must recognize the value of their support staff and take action to improve their performance. Organizations can ensure their support personnel are motivated, productive, and performing well by lowering their workload and providing opportunities for recognition and training. This study aims to find the effect of autonomy, workload, and work-life balance on job performance among support staff at a selected organization in Negeri Sembilan. A quantitative approach was used, collecting data through structured questionnaires. The results showed a significant, positive, and moderate relationship between autonomy and job performance, with a p-value of more than 0.01. There was no significant, negative, or very weak relationship between workload and job performance, and a significant, positive, and strong relationship between work-life balance and job performance.
Downloads
References
Al-Jedaia, Y., & Mehrez, A. (2020). The effect of performance appraisal on job performance in the governmental sector: The mediating role of motivation. Management Science Letters, 10(9), 2077-2088.
Ali, B. J., & Anwar, G. (2021). An empirical study of employees’ motivation and its influence on job satisfaction. Ali, BJ, & Anwar, G.(2021). An Empirical Study of Employees’ Motivation and Its Influence on Job Satisfaction. International Journal of Engineering, Business and Management, 5(2), 21-30.
Atmaja, D. S., Zaroni, A. N., & Yusuf, M. (2023). Actualization Of Performance Management Models For The Development Of Human Resources Quality, Economic Potential, And Financial Governance Policy In the Indonesian Ministry Of Education. Multicultural Education, 9(01), 1-15.
Brough, P., Timms, C., Chan, X. W., Hawkes, A., & Rasmussen, L. (2020). Work–life balance: Definitions, causes, and consequences. Handbook of socioeconomic determinants of occupational health: From macro-level to micro-level evidence, 473-487.
Cho, J., Schilpzand, P., Huang, L., & Paterson, T. (2021). How and when humble leadership facilitates employee job performance: the roles of feeling trusted and job autonomy. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 28(2), 169-184.
Clack, L. (2021). Employee engagement: Keys to organizational success. The Palgrave handbook of workplace well-being, 1001-1028.
Cvenkel, N. (2021). Work-life balance and well-being at work: Employees’ perspective to promote a psychologically healthy workplace. The Palgrave handbook of corporate social responsibility, 429-451.
Dagan, H., & Gergen, M. P. (2024). Autonomy and Form. Available at SSRN 4734569.
Hogan, R., Kaiser, R. B., Sherman, R. A., & Harms, P. D. (2021). Twenty years on the dark side: Six lessons about bad leadership. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 73(3), 199.
Hyatt, K. (2022). Stressors in higher education that lead to burnout and solutions to avoid it. Journal of Business and Educational Leadership, 12(1), 110-125.
Jamal, M. T., Anwar, I., Khan, N. A., & Saleem, I. (2021). Work during COVID-19: assessing the influence of job demands and resources on practical and psychological outcomes for employees. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 13(3), 293-319.
Jermsittiparsert, K., Petchchedchoo, P., Kumsuprom, S., & Panmanee, P. (2021). The impact of the workload on job satisfaction: Does the job stress matter? Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 20, 1-13.
Johanim, J., Adnan, Z., Fee Yean, T., Khulida, Y., Site, K., & Isa, N. (2013). Fostering Employee Engagement through Human Resource Practices: A Case of Manufacturing Firms in Malaysia. Jurnal Pengurusan, 38, 15-26. https://doi.org/10.17576/pengurusan-2013-38-02
Kessler, S. R., Lucianetti, L., Pindek, S., Zhu, Z., & Spector, P. E. (2020). Job satisfaction and firm performance: Can employees’ job satisfaction change the trajectory of a firm’s performance? Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 50(10), 563-572.
Khoshnaw, S., & Alavi, H. (2020). Examining the interrelation between job autonomy and job performance: A critical literature review. Multidisciplinary Aspects of Production Engineering, 3(1), 606-616.
Kruse, S. D., Hackmann, D. G., & Lindle, J. C. (2020). Academic leadership during a pandemic: Department heads leading with a focus on equity. Frontiers in Education,
Lee, H. (2021). Changes in workplace practices during the COVID-19 pandemic: the roles of emotion, psychological safety and organisation support. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 8(1), 97-128.
Leonard, R. E. (2022). The Moderating Effect of Job Satisfaction on Work-Life Balance and Job Performance, Capella University.
Licudan-Credo, G., & Naparota, L. C. (2022). Job Satisfaction and Quality of Work Life among Government Employees in the Municipality of Liloy, Zamboanga Del Norte, Philippines. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 7(6), 148-163.
Mavlutova, I., Babenko, V., Dykan, V., Prokopenko, N., Kalinichenko, S., & Tokmakova, I. (2021). Business restructuring is a method of strengthening a company’s financial position. Journal of Optimization in Industrial Engineering, 14(Special Issue), 105-115.
Miko?ajczyk, K., Molek-Winiarska, D., & Kleszewski, E. (2023). “I have to be always on”–managerial role and experience of work-life balance and regeneration practices during remote work. International Journal of Workplace Health Management.
Murphy, K. R. (2020). Performance evaluation will not die, but it should. Human Resource Management Journal, 30(1), 13-31.
Organization, W. H. (2021). Report of the world of work dialogue.
Park, Y., Liu, Y., & Headrick, L. (2020). When work is wanted after hours: Testing weekly stress of information communication technology demands using boundary theory. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 41(6), 518-534.
Rahmadani, V. G., Schaufeli, W. B., Stouten, J., Zhang, Z., & Zulkarnain, Z. (2020). Engaging leadership and its implications for work engagement and job outcomes at the individual and team level: A multi-level longitudinal study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH, 17(3), 776.
Sarwar, H., Ishaq, M. I., Amin, A., & Ahmed, R. (2020). Ethical leadership, work engagement, employees’ well-being, and performance: a cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28(12), 2008-2026.
Sonko, S., Adewusi, A. O., Obi, O. C., Onwusinkwue, S., & Atadoga, A. (2024). A critical review of artificial general intelligence: Challenges, ethical considerations, and the path forward. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 21(3), 1262-1268.
Stofkova, Z., & Sukalova, V. (2020). Sustainable development of human resources in the globalization period. Sustainability, 12(18), 7681.
Ugboro, I. O., & Obeng, K. (2000). Top management leadership, employee empowerment, job satisfaction, and customer satisfaction in TQM organizations: an empirical study. Journal of Quality Management, 5(2), 247-272.
Unsworth, K. L., Davis, M. C., Russell, S. V., & Bretter, C. (2021). Employee green behaviour: How organizations can help the environment. Current Opinion in Psychology, 42, 1-6.
Vyas-Doorgapersad, S. (2023). A Critical Review of Employee Health, Wellbeing Programs, and Organizational Success: Navigating Post-COVID-19 Sustainable Development. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), 12(6), 91-100.
Wu, H., & Chen, Y. (2020). The impact of work from home (wfh) on workload and productivity in terms of different tasks and occupations. HCI International 2020–Late Breaking Papers: Interaction, Knowledge and Social Media: 22nd HCI International Conference, HCII 2020, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 19–24, 2020, Proceedings 22,
Y?ld?z, S. (2023). Quiet quitting: Causes, consequences, and suggestions. International Social Mentality and Researcher Thinkers Journal (SMART JOURNAL).
Copyright (c) 2025 Nur Atiqah Rochin Demong, Abdul Hamid Abdul Halim, Masrur Mohd Khir, Ryan Kang Jee Hong, Natalie Loi Yoke Kei

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Author (s) should affirm that the material has not been published previously. It has not been submitted and it is not under consideration by any other journal. At the same time author (s) need to execute a publication permission agreement to assume the responsibility of the submitted content and any omissions and errors therein. After submission of revised paper in the light of suggestions of the reviewers, the editorial team edits and formats manuscripts to bring uniformity and standardization in published material.
This work will be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) and under condition of the license, users are free to read, copy, remix, transform, redistribute, download, print, search or link to the full texts of articles and even build upon their work as long as they credit the author for the original work. Moreover, as per journal policy author (s) hold and retain copyrights without any restrictions.