International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12

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 Volume 13, Issue 4 (April 2026), Pages: 122-129

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 Original Research Paper

Work-life balance, psychological empowerment, and work engagement: Insights from the job demands-resources model

 Author(s): 

Udin Udin 1, *, Epriyaloka Anggun Putri Eka Novia 1, Radyan Dananjoyo 1, Mohd Shamsuri Md Saad 2, Amiruddin Ahamat 2

 Affiliation(s):

1Department of Management, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
2Faculty of Technology Management and Technopreneurship, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Melaka, Malaysia

 Full text

    Full Text - PDF

 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5491-9085

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2026.04.012

 Abstract

Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) model, this study examines the effect of work–life balance (WLB) on employee work engagement (WE), with psychological empowerment (PE) as a mediating variable. A quantitative cross-sectional design was used, and data were collected from 121 full-time employees working in public hospitals in East Java, Indonesia. The measurement and structural models were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that WLB has a significant positive effect on both PE and WE. In addition, PE has a strong direct effect on WE and significantly mediates the relationship between WLB and WE. These findings suggest that maintaining a balance between work and non-work demands can improve employees’ psychological conditions and support higher levels of vigor, dedication, and absorption at work. This study contributes to the JD–R literature by showing how job resources and personal resources interact to influence work engagement in demanding clinical settings.

 © 2026 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

Work-life balance, Psychological empowerment, Work engagement, Job demands-resources, PLS-SEM

 Article history

Received 23 November 2025, Received in revised form 1 April 2026, Accepted 8 April 2026

 Acknowledgment

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Department of Management, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, and thank all participants for their valuable contributions. 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Ethical considerations:

This study was conducted in accordance with established ethical standards for research involving human participants. Prior to data collection, the research protocol was reviewed and approved by the relevant institutional ethics committee (401/A.I-II/FEB/VII/2025). Participation was entirely voluntary, and informed consent was obtained from all respondents before they completed the questionnaire. Participants were assured of the confidentiality and anonymity of their responses, and no personally identifiable information was collected. The data were used solely for academic research purposes, and all procedures complied with applicable ethical guidelines. 

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

Udin U, Novia EAPE, Dananjoyo R, Saad MSM, and Ahamat A (2026). Work-life balance, psychological empowerment, and work engagement: Insights from the job demands-resources model. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 13(4): 122-129

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