The mediating role of employee engagement in the link between life–work skills, organisational support and employee loyalty

Abstract

Orientation: Employees face high work pressure, work–life imbalance, and insufficient organisational support, which can diminish loyalty. Employee engagement is posited as a key mechanism linking life–work skills and organisational support to loyalty.
Research purpose: This study examines the mediating role of employee engagement in the relationships between two types of life–work skills (life–work effectiveness skills and harmony of life skills), organisational support, and employee loyalty.
Motivation for the study: Little research has explored how different life–work skills and organisational support influence loyalty in collectivist cultures such as Indonesia.
Research approach/design and method: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was conducted with 200 permanent employees across various Indonesian industries. Data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling in SmartPLS.
Main findings: Both harmony of life skills and organisational support positively affect employee engagement, and life–work effectiveness skills also show a significant positive effect on engagement. Only organisational support and employee engagement directly enhance loyalty. Employee engagement fully mediates the effects of both types of life–work skills on loyalty, and partially mediates the effect of organisational support on loyalty.
Practical/managerial implications: Organisations should foster loyalty by strengthening organisational support, promoting work–life harmony, and developing employees’ life–work effectiveness skills – all of which enhance engagement. In collectivist cultures like Indonesia, special emphasis should be placed on relational support and reciprocity.
Contribution/value-add: This study clarifies the distinct pathways through which personal and organisational resources affect loyalty, highlighting the central mediating role of engagement. It extends the Job Demands–Resources and Social Exchange theories to a collectivist cultural setting.