Citation:

Indah Lestari, Fetty Poerwita Sary. "Culture, Discipline, and Workload: Employee Performance under Bureaucratic Reform in Indonesian Local Government" International Research Journal of Economics and Management Studies, Vol. 5, No. 8, pp. 1-10, 2026. Crossref. https://doi.org/10.56472/25835238/IRJEMS-V5I8P101

Abstract:

This study examines how work culture, work discipline, and workload jointly shape employee performance at the Regional Secretariat of Bekasi Regency, Indonesia, amid the national bureaucratic reform agenda since 2021. Despite the institutionalization of the ASN BerAKHLAK values framework and digitally integrated performance evaluation, performance outcomes remain uneven across local government institutions, revealing a gap between reform design and organizational reality. Drawing on Job Demands-Resources Theory as the primary lens, complemented by Social Exchange Theory, Organizational Behavior Theory, Public Service Motivation Theory, and Institutional Theory, this study positions work culture and work discipline as organizational resources and workload as the central job demand. Data were collected from 125 employees through a structured survey and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling with SmartPLS 4. The results show that work culture (β = 0.344, p = 0.002) and work discipline (β = 0.338, p = 0.001) each exert positive and significant effects on employee performance, while workload exerts a negative and significant effect (β = −0.240, p = 0.000). The model explains 48.8 percent of the variance in employee performance, with large predictive relevance (Q² = 0.412) and acceptable model fit (SRMR = 0.056). These findings indicate that bureaucratic reform has strengthened institutional resources through cultural standardization and disciplinary reinforcement, while workforce insufficiency remains unresolved, producing a performance equilibrium that is positive yet vulnerable to erosion. The study contributes empirical evidence from a developing-country local government context and offers guidance for public sector HR management under administrative transformation.

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Keywords:

Bureaucratic Reform, Employee Performance, Job Demands-Resources Theory, Workload.