The Influence of Flexible Working Arrangements, Work Environment, and Leadership Style on Job Satisfaction

Yesika Debbi Efani Sihotang; Awan Santosa

doi:10.54518/art.10.1.2026.1503

Authors

Yesika Debbi Efani Sihotang Universitas Mercu Buana Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Awan Santosa Universitas Mercu Buana Yogyakarta, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54518/art.10.1.2026.1503

Keywords:

Flexible Working Arrangement, Job Satisfaction, Leadership Style, Part-Time Working Students, Work Environment

Abstract

The increasing number of university students undertaking part-time employment has created new challenges in balancing academic responsibilities and work commitments, making job satisfaction an important issue for both employees and organizations. This study aims to examine the effects of flexible working arrangements, work environment, and leadership style on the job satisfaction of part-time working students. A quantitative approach with an associative research design was employed using purposive sampling to collect data from 100 active university students working part-time. Data were gathered through structured questionnaires and analyzed using multiple linear regression after satisfying validity, reliability, normality, multicollinearity, and heteroscedasticity assumptions. The findings reveal that all three independent variables positively and significantly influence job satisfaction, with the work environment demonstrating the strongest effect, followed by flexible working arrangements and leadership style. Furthermore, the regression model explains 86.5% of the variance in job satisfaction, indicating a high explanatory power. These findings imply that organizations employing part-time students should adopt integrated human resource practices by providing flexible work policies, supportive work environments, and effective leadership to improve employee satisfaction, strengthen organizational commitment, and promote sustainable student employment.

References

Al-Kasasbeh, O. (2024). Exploring the nexus between leadership styles, employee engagement, and organizational performance: A multidimensional review. HISTORICAL: Journal of History and Social Sciences, 3(2), 154–168. https://doi.org/10.58355/historical.v3i2.112.

Allen, T. D., Johnson, R. C., Kiburz, K. M., & Shockley, K. M. (2013). Work–family conflict and flexible work arrangements: Deconstructing flexibility. Personnel Psychology, 66(3), 555–588. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12012.

Aras, Y., Avcı, K., & Goktas, M. (2025). The mediating role of job satisfaction in the impact of quality of work life on organizational commitment and job performance. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 1(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-04-2025-0190.

Bahadır, F., Yeşiltaş, M., Sesen, H., & Olaleye, B. R. (2024). The relation between perceived organizational support and employee satisfaction: The role of relational psychological contract and reciprocity ideology. Kybernetes, 53(1), 102–122. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-04-2022-0520.

Bella, K. M. J. (2023). Exploring the impact of workplace relationships and employee job satisfaction. International Journal of Scientific Research in Modern Science and Technology, 2(8), 55–62.

Chen, Y., & Fulmer, I. S. (2018). Fine-tuning what we know about employees’ experience with flexible work arrangements and their job attitudes. Human Resource Management, 57(1), 381–395. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21849.

Dewa, A. (2023). The influence of work ability, work discipline, and work environment on employee performance. Economic and Business Horizon, 2(3), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.54518/ebh.2.3.2023.171.

Fardiansyah, I. E., Jumady, E., & Djaharuddin, D. (2025). Leadership and organizational commitment in improving employee performance: The role of job satisfaction as a mediator. Golden Ratio of Human Resource Management, 5(1), 221–231. https://doi.org/10.52970/grhrm.v5i1.862.

George, J. B., & Poluru, N. V. (2024). Exploring the impact of flexible work arrangements on turnover intention: The mediating role of job satisfaction and the moderating effect of perceived supervisory support. Journal of Accounting, Business and Management, 32(1), 100–123. https://doi.org/10.31966/jabminternational.v32i1.1467.

Gopalan, N., Goodman, S., Hardy, A., & Jacobs, C. (2019). A fine balance: Understanding the influence of job, school and personal characteristics in predicting academic and job satisfaction amongst non-traditional students. Journal of Education and Work, 32(6–7), 570–585. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2019.1673890.

Gorenak, M., Edelheim, J. R., & Brumen, B. (2020). The influence of organizational values on job satisfaction of employees. Human Systems Management, 39(3), 329–343. https://doi.org/10.3233/HSM-190781.

Grace, E., Ervina, N., Simanjuntak, M. D., Julyanthry, J., & Butarbutar, I. P. (2025). The effect of job satisfaction in mediating the relationship between leadership, organizational support, and work motivation. Jurnal Ilmiah Manajemen Kesatuan, 13(4), 2853–2860. https://doi.org/10.37641/jimkes.v13i4.3567.

Hasibuan, S. M., Lubis, M. R., & Hardjo, S. (2019). Hubungan gaya kepemimpinan dan lingkungan kerja dengan motivasi kerja anggota Satuan Brigade Mobile Kepolisian Daerah Sumatera Utara. Tabularasa: Jurnal Ilmiah Magister Psikologi, 1(1), 78–86. https://doi.org/10.31289/tabularasa.v1i1.279.

Hasim, M. A., Mahbob, N. N., & Musa, N. C. (2024). The impact of leadership styles, flexible working arrangements, rewards, and organizational culture on employee job satisfaction: Evidence from selected commercial banks in Johor, Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, 14(4), 1426–1438. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARAFMS/v14-i4/24345.

Holmes, V. (2008). Working to live: Why university students balance full-time study and employment. Education + Training, 50(4), 305–314. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910810880542.

Indradewa, R., & Prasetio, A. A. (2023). The influence of flexible working arrangements and work-life balance on job satisfaction: A double-layered moderated mediation model. Jurnal Ekonomi dan Bisnis, 26(2), 449–476. https://doi.org/10.24914/jeb.v26i2.9551.

Kumari, G., & Pandey, K. M. (2023). Mapping the job satisfaction level of employees on work performance in pharmaceutical industry. In Interdisciplinary Research in Technology and Management (pp. 272–287). Boca Raton: CRC Press.

Lowe, J., & Gayle, V. (2007). Exploring the work/life/study balance: The experience of higher education students in a Scottish further education college. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 31(3), 225–238. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098770701424942.

Mahmud, I., Kalsum, U., & Abbas, B. (2023). How work commitment, work discipline, and workload mediate the relationship between organizational culture and employee performance? Empirical evidence in land office of Southeast Sulawesi Province. Economic and Business Horizon, 2(1), 12–23. https://doi.org/10.54518/ebh.2.1.2023.155.

Mulyono, A. D., & Ekawati, S. (2023). Pengaruh gaya kepemimpinan, motivasi kerja, budaya organisasi terhadap kepuasan kerja karyawan. Jurnal Manajerial dan Kewirausahaan, 5(4), 848–856. https://doi.org/10.24912/jmk.v5i4.26925.

Pasaribu, S. B., Goestjahjanti, F. S., Srinita, S., Novitasari, D., & Haryanto, B. (2022). The role of situational leadership on job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and employee performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 13(1), 89-99. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.896539.

Peretz, H., Fried, Y., & Levi, A. (2018). Flexible work arrangements, national culture, organisational characteristics, and organisational outcomes: A study across 21 countries. Human Resource Management Journal, 28(1), 182–200. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12172.

Prentice, S. B. (2022). Job satisfaction or employee engagement: Regardless of which comes first, supportive leadership improves them both. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 24(4), 275–285. https://doi.org/10.1177/15234223221112504.

Putra, I. G. E. P., Amrullah, M. F. A., Lataruva, E., & Suharnomo, S. (2025). Leadership styles and organizational culture in enhancing employee performance: A systematic review. Entrepreneurship and Innovation Review, 3(1), 69–79. https://doi.org/10.54518/eir.3.1.2025.1309.

Rahman, S., Wijayati, D. T., & Kistyanto, A. (2023). Does transformational leadership and flexible working arrangements affect journalist performance? The mediating role of job satisfaction. Journal of Business and Management Review, 4(7), 524–544.

Raziq, A., & Maulabakhsh, R. (2015). Impact of working environment on job satisfaction. Procedia Economics and Finance, 23(9), 717–725. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)00524-9.

Stefanya, Y., & Winarto, J. (2025). Pengaruh flexible working arrangement, beban kerja, dan kepuasan kerja terhadap turnover intention Generasi Z. Jurnal Informatika Ekonomi Bisnis, 7(3), 484–490. https://doi.org/10.37034/infeb.v7i3.1201.

Surianto, S., & Nurfahira, N. (2024). The role of work environment and leadership in enhancing employee performance. Economics and Digital Business Review, 5(2), 1054–1070. https://doi.org/10.37531/ecotal.v5i2.1606.

Tetteh, E. N., & Attiogbe, E. J. K. (2019). Work–life balance among working university students in Ghana. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 9(4), 525–537. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-08-2018-0079.

Wyrwa, J., & Kaźmierczyk, J. (2020). Conceptualizing job satisfaction and its determinants: A systematic literature review. Journal of Economic Sociology, 21(5), 138–167.