PREDICTORS OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE AMONG SUPPORTING STAFF IN A MALAYSIAN PUBLIC SECTOR DEPARTMENT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55197/qjssh.v7si4.1638Keywords:
work-life balance, organizational support, flexible working hours, public sector, human resource managementAbstract
Work-life balance has emerged as a critical strategic priority for organizational sustainability and employee well-being, particularly within high-stakes public sector environments where evolving expectations often distort the boundaries between professional and personal life. This study aims to investigate the primary predictors of work-life balance, specifically perceived organizational support, workload, and flexible working hours; among supporting staff of a Malaysian public sector department. Employing a quantitative research design, empirical data were collected from 110 supporting staff using a structured questionnaire adapted from established instruments. Data were analyzed using SPSS Version 26 through descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The findings reveal that organizational resources play an essential role in improving employees’ work-life balance. Specifically, both perceived organizational support and flexible working hours exert a significant and positive influence on work-life balance, with perceived organizational support emerging as the most dominant predictor. Interestingly, while excessive job demands are frequently cited as primary detractors of work-life balance in broader academic literature, this study found that routine workloads did not significantly disrupt the balance of the supporting staff. This suggests a highly normalized task distribution within the department, where heavier analytical burdens are effectively managed by higher-ranking officers, thereby strategically insulating supporting personnel from workload-induced stress. Consequently, the study concludes that human resource interventions in Malaysian public agencies should prioritize strengthening empathetic supervisory care and ensuring access to usable scheduling autonomy. By strengthening these specific structural resources rather than relying solely on workload reduction strategies, government organizations can effectively maintain harmony between professional demands and personal lives, driving job satisfaction, enhancing workforce productivity, and decisively promoting long-term work-life equilibrium.
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