The Effect of Workplace and Working Hours Flexibility on Industrial Relations Mediator (MHI) Performance through Reward and Punishment

Abstract

This study analyzes the influence of workplace flexibility and working hours flexibility on the performance of Industrial Relations Mediators (MHI), with reward and punishment as mediating variables. The study is motivated by the fluctuating case-resolution rate of industrial relations disputes handled by MHI within the Directorate General of Industrial Relations and Workers' Social Security Development, which has not shown a stable trend from 2022 to April 2025 (81.25%; 70.94%; 88.76%; 76.31%). This research employs a quantitative associative approach with a cross-sectional survey design, analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS 4.1.1.8. The sample consists of 81 MHI selected through proportional stratified random sampling from a population of 101 individuals. The results indicate that workplace and working-hours flexibility have a positive and significant effect on reward and punishment (β = 0.444 and 0.424), as well as on mediator performance both directly (β = 0.345 and 0.294) and through reward and punishment as a partial mediator (β = 0.123 and 0.118). Reward and punishment are also proven to positively and significantly affect mediator performance (β = 0.278), such that all seven hypotheses are accepted.