HUMAN CAPITAL UNDER PSYCHOLOGICAL STRAIN: RETHINKING EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN THE ERA OF QUIET QUITTING
This study examines employee performance in the context of increasing psychological strain characterized by quiet quitting, job insecurity, and workload. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) theory and Social Exchange Theory, this research develops an integrated model that positions work engagement as a mediating variable and psychological safety as a moderating factor. A quantitative approach with a cross-sectional survey design was employed, involving 360 Generation Y and Z employees in Indonesia. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that quiet quitting, job insecurity, and workload significantly influence both work engagement and employee performance. Work engagement emerges as the strongest predictor of employee performance and plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between job demands and performance outcomes. Meanwhile, psychological safety has a positive direct effect on performance and partially moderates the relationships between job insecurity, quiet quitting, and performance, although its moderating effect on workload is not significant. These findings highlight the critical role of psychological and relational factors in shaping employee performance in contemporary workplaces. This study contributes to the human capital literature by integrating emerging workplace phenomena into a comprehensive model and offers practical implications for developing sustainable, human-centered performance management strategies.
Keywords: Quiet Quitting, Job Insecurity, Workload, Work Engagement, Psychological Safety, Employee Performance
