•  
  •  
 

Abstract

This study examined the mediating role of mental health, operationalized as lower non-specific psychological distress, in the relationships between life satisfaction, resilience, and employee engagement among Generation Z employees in Indonesia. A quantitative cross-sectional explanatory survey design was used. The sample consisted of 324 Generation Z employees selected from a larger dataset based on age cohort, full-time employment status, and voluntary participation. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling with LISREL 8.80 and Maximum Likelihood estimation. The results showed that life satisfaction was positively associated with employee engagement and with mental health as operationalized in this study. Resilience was positively associated with mental health, but was not directly associated with employee engagement. Mental health was positively associated with employee engagement and mediated the relationships between life satisfaction and employee engagement, as well as between resilience and employee engagement. The mediation pattern indicated that mental health partially mediated the relationship between life satisfaction and employee engagement, while it showed an indirect-only mediation pattern in the relationship between resilience and employee engagement. These findings suggest that lower psychological distress may function as a proximal psychological condition through which personal psychological resources support workplace engagement among Generation Z employees.

References

Biswal, K., Srivastava, K. B. L., & Alli, S. F. (2025). Psychological Capital and Work Engagement: Moderating Role of Social Relationships. Annals of Neurosciences, 32(2), 108–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/09727531231198964

Cabrera-Aguilar, E., Zevallos-Francia, M., Morales-García, M., Ramírez-Coronel, A. A., Morales-García, S. B., Sairitupa-Sanchez, L. Z., & Morales-García, W. C. (2023). Resilience and stress as predictors of work engagement: The mediating role of self-efficacy in nurses. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1202048. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1202048

Çivilidağ, A. (2026). The relationship between flexible work arrangements and employee engagement across countries’ levels of development: A systematic mini-review and meta-analysis. Multidisciplinary Reviews, 9(8), 2026409. https://doi.org/10.31893/multirev.2026409

Delhey, J., Hess, S., Boehnke, K., Deutsch, F., Eichhorn, J., Kühnen, U., & Welzel, C. (2023). Life Satisfaction During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Human, Economic, Social, and Psychological Capital. Journal of Happiness Studies, 24(7), 2201–2222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-023-00676-w

Deloitte. (2025). 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey. https://www.deloitte.com/content/dam/assets-shared/docs/campaigns/2025/2025-genz-millennial-survey.pdf

Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95(3), 542–575. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.95.3.542

Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Tay, L. (2018). Advances in subjective well-being research. Nature Human Behaviour, 2(4), 253–260. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0307-6

Dong, Y., Xu, L., Wu, S., Qin, W., Hu, F., Li, M., & Xu, Y. (2022). The Mediating Effect of Perceived Social Support on Mental Health and Life Satisfaction among Residents: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of 8500 Subjects in Taian City, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(22), 14756. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192214756

Elgeka, H. W. S., Hidayat, R., & Pratono, A. H. (2026). Psychometric validation of the Existence, Relatedness, and Growth (ERG) scale for Indonesian generation Z employees. BMC Psychology, 14(1), 295. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-04044-0

Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218

Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., & Agrawal, S. (2020). The Relationship Between Engagement at Work and Organizational Outcomes.

Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513

ICCN (Indonesia Career Center Network). (2023). Laporan Kesiapan Kerja Generasi Z di Indonesia. ICCN.

Jaspal, R. (2026). Maladaptive Self-with-Other Schemata, Identity Resilience, and Anxiety in Millennial and Gen Z Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual People. Sexuality & Culture. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-026-10542-5

Kalman, M. (2025). Teacher Subjective Well-being and Work Engagement: The Mediating Role of Professional Resilience. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-025-01066-x

Kaňková, J., Vranken, S., & Matthes, J. (2025). A double-edged sword: Exploring associations between engagement with mental health content by social media influencers and psychological well-being. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 19(5). https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2025-5-2

Kelliher, C., Richardson, J., & Boiarintseva, G. (2019). All of work? All of life? Reconceptualising work‐life balance for the 21st century. Human Resource Management Journal, 29(2), 97–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12215

Kessler, R. C., Andrews, G., Colpe, L. J., Hiripi, E., Mroczek, D. K., Normand, S.-L. T., Walters, E. E., & Zaslavsky, A. M. (2002). Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine, 32(6), 959–976. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291702006074

Kim, K.-S. (2019). The Influence of Hotels High-Commitment HRM on Job Engagement of Employees: Mediating Effects of Workplace Happiness and Mental Health. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 14(2), 507–525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-018-9626-z

Kumar, M., Saini, A., & Jeet, K. (2024). Sustaining mental health amidst high-pressure job scenarios: A narrative review. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 11(8), 3319–3325. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20242197

Lavy, S., & Littman-Ovadia, H. (2017). My Better Self: Using Strengths at Work and Work Productivity, Organizational Citizenship Behavior, and Satisfaction. Journal of Career Development, 44(2), 95–109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845316634056

Luthans, F., Avolio, B. J., Avey, J. B., & Norman, S. M. (2007). Positive Psychological Capital: Measurement and Relationship With Performance and Satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 60(3), 541–572. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2007.00083.x

Mallika, S., & Mythili, Dr. G. (2026). Investigating And Validating The Relationship Between Leadership Style And Employee Engagement Among Teaching Professionals In Higher Education. International Journal of Drug Delivery Technology, 16(3s). https://doi.org/10.25258/ijddt.16.3s.34

Malvaso, A., & Kang, W. (2022). The relationship between areas of life satisfaction, personality, and overall life satisfaction: An integrated account. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 894610. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.894610

Mohamad, S., Hamedani, S. S., Yunos, A. B. M., Wahid, M. N. B. A., & Hamdan, M. D. B. M. (2026). Work-life balance and organizational sustainability: Generation Z perspectives from Johor’s Marine industry. Multidisciplinary Science Journal, 8(7), 2026484. https://doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2026484

Molwitz, I., Korchi, A. M., Gheonea, I. A., Curvo-Semedo, L., & D’Anna, G. (2026). Burnout and work-life balance: The generational points of view. Insights into Imaging, 17(1), 56. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13244-026-02232-5

Palunčić, D. (2026). Exploring the impact of gamification on employee engagement and knowledge sharing during a merger: A case study of a South African advertising agency. Journal of Marketing Communications, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2026.2655209

Petrova, M., Ramazanov, S., & Stemplewska, L. (2024). Employee involvement in a volatile Society 5.0 landscape. In E. Jędrych & A. Rzepka (Eds.), Organizational Development, Innovation, and Economy 5.0: Challenges in the Digital Era (pp. 164–170). Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003502272-14

Rugulies, R., Aust, B., Greiner, B. A., Arensman, E., Kawakami, N., LaMontagne, A. D., & Madsen, I. E. H. (2023). Work-related causes of mental health conditions and interventions for their improvement in workplaces. The Lancet, 402(10410), 1368–1381. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00869-3

Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Salanova, M. (2006). The Measurement of Work Engagement With a Short Questionnaire: A Cross-National Study. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66(4), 701–716. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164405282471

Schroth, H. (2019). Are You Ready for Gen Z in the Workplace? California Management Review, 61(3), 5–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/0008125619841006

Sharma, P. K., & Kumra, R. (2020). Relationship between workplace spirituality, organizational justice and mental health: Mediation role of employee engagement. Journal of Advances in Management Research, 17(5), 627–650. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAMR-01-2020-0007

Sheng, J., Zheng, G., Wang, H., & Xu, Z. (2025). Exploring the associations between work addiction, emotional intelligence, psychological detachment, and interpersonal conflicts in young employees. Frontiers in Public Health, 13, 1631122. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1631122

Smith, B. W., Dalen, J., Wiggins, K., Tooley, E., Christopher, P., & Bernard, J. (2008). The brief resilience scale: Assessing the ability to bounce back. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 15(3), 194–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705500802222972

Thapa, A., Gyawali, P., & Kalauni, D. (2026). Leadership strategies to foster innovation in healthcare organizations of the UK: A systematic review. BMC Health Services Research, 26(1), 222. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-14017-z

Van Leeuwen, C. M., Post, M. W., Westers, P., Van Der Woude, L. H., De Groot, S., Sluis, T., Slootman, H., & Lindeman, E. (2012). Relationships Between Activities, Participation, Personal Factors, Mental Health, and Life Satisfaction in Persons With Spinal Cord Injury. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 93(1), 82–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2011.07.203

Wanjari, U., & Kadam, S. (2025). Gen Z and Workplace Expectations in HealthCare: Integration and Resilience. In M. S. Kaiser, J. Xie, & V. S. Rathore (Eds.), Intelligent Strategies for ICT (Vol. 1382, pp. 415–424). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-5604-2_35

WHO. (2025). Mental health. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response

Yasami, M., Phetvaroon, K., Dewan, M., & Stosic, K. (2024). Does employee resilience work? The effects of job insecurity on psychological withdrawal behavior and work engagement. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 7(5), 2862–2882. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-06-2023-0423

Zhu, Z., Hu, X., & Zhang, B. (2025). The role of resilience in navigating work stress and achieving daily work goals. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 46(8), 1107–1119. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2839

Download

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.