Work Motivation as a Mediating Mechanism Linking Work Culture and Human Resource Health Characteristics to Employee Performance: Evidence from the Regional House of Representatives Secretariat of North Luwu Regency

Abstract

This study examines whether work motivation mediates the effects of work culture and human resource (HR) health characteristics on employee performance at the Regional House of Representatives Secretariat of North Luwu Regency, Indonesia. A quantitative explanatory, cross-sectional design was applied to all 185 civil-servant and non-civil-servant employees using total sampling. Data were collected through a five-point Likert questionnaire and analyzed with structural equation modeling-partial least squares (SEM-PLS) using SmartPLS. The measurement model satisfied validity and reliability criteria. The structural model explained 69.6% of employee performance and 68.8% of work motivation. Work culture did not significantly affect performance (β=0.068, p=0.519), but significantly increased work motivation (β=0.326, p=0.007). HR health characteristics had strong positive effects on performance (β=0.712, p<0.001) and work motivation (β=0.564, p<0.001). Work motivation did not significantly affect performance (β=0.087, p=0.578) and did not mediate either the work culture-performance relationship (β=0.028, p=0.602) or the HR health-performance relationship (β=0.049, p=0.596). The findings reposition employee health as a direct strategic resource for public-sector performance and show that high motivation alone may be insufficient when performance is governed by formal procedures, work capacity, and operational demands.