Explaining Employee Loyalty in Higher Education: The Roles of Workload, Career Development, and Job Satisfaction

This study examines the effects of Workload and Career Development on Job Satisfaction and Employee Loyalty among lecturers and staff in a higher education context. Using the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) perspective, the study employed a quantitative explanatory research design with a cross-sectional survey approach. Data were collected through an online structured questionnaire from 70 lecturers and educational staff employed at one university in Indonesia, selected using purposive sampling. The proposed model was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to assess the relationships among the latent constructs and examine mediation effects.The findings indicate that Career Development has a significant positive effect on both Job Satisfaction and Employee Loyalty, with its effect on Employee Loyalty emerging as the strongest relationship in the model. In contrast, Workload does not significantly affect either Job Satisfaction or Employee Loyalty. Job Satisfaction also does not have a significant direct effect on Employee Loyalty. Furthermore, the mediation analysis shows that Job Satisfaction does not significantly mediate the relationships between Workload and Employee Loyalty or between Career Development and Employee Loyalty. These findings highlight the central role of Career Development in strengthening employee satisfaction and loyalty in higher education institutions. The study contributes to the JD-R perspective by emphasizing the importance of career-related job resources in shaping favorable employee outcomes.