Job Stress and Burnout as the Predictors of Work Disengagement among Generation Z Employees in Jakarta

Based on the JD-R and COR theories, this research examines the impact of work-related stress (specifically, work disengagement) and work-life balance on Generation Z employees in Jakarta, using burnout as a mediating variable. In this research, burnout serves as the variable linking these two factors. "Quiet quitting" is the main phenomenon that will be studied; it is the type of psychological withdrawal from work with a very low level of engagement among employees in general. The primary data were gathered through an explanatory quantitative design via the use of an online survey involving 100 Generation Z employees born between 1997 and 2005 from various industries based in the Jakarta area. The participants of the study were chosen using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. For the analysis of the data gathered, the researcher used the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method in SmartPLS 4.0, where bootstrapping was used in order to determine the statistical significance of the findings. The measurement model yielded satisfactory results regarding the convergent validity, reliability, and discriminant validity. As for the structural model results, it can be stated that the work-life balance does not have any significant effects either directly or indirectly on the burnout and work disengagement. Nevertheless, the burnout has a significant effect on the work disengagement. In addition, the findings suggest that the job stress is the key factor that causes burnout. These findings suggest that, for Jakarta’s Generation Z workforce, disengagement from work is driven predominantly by the health-impairment pathway of job demands rather than by work-life imbalance. Organizations are recommended to prioritize proactive workload management and burnout-prevention programs over generic work-life balance initiatives. This study contributes empirical evidence on quiet quitting in an under-researched, cross-sectoral, urban Southeast Asian youth-labor context.

quiet quitting; work disengagement; job stress; burnout; work-life balance; Generation Z

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