The Role of Job Satisfaction in Mediating the Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Employee Performance at the Sei Suka District Office, Batu Bara Regency

Authors

  • Sri Wahyuni Nasution Universitas Pembangunan Panca Budi
  • Muhammad Isa Indrawan Universitas Pembangunan Panca Budi
  • Mesra B Universitas Pembangunan Panca Budi

Keywords:

Emotional Intelligence, Job Satisfaction, Employee Performance

Abstract

Employee performance is an important factor in supporting the success of public services, especially at the sub-district level of government. The Sei Suka Sub-district Office in Batu Bara Regency is required to have employees with optimal performance in order to provide effective, efficient, and quality services to the community. This study aims to analyze the effect of emotional intelligence on employee performance with job satisfaction as a mediating variable. The study used a quantitative approach with a census method, in which all 55 permanent employees of the Sei Suka Subdistrict Office were used as research samples. Data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed using the Partial Least Square (PLS) method with the help of SmartPLS software. The results show that emotional intelligence does not have a significant direct effect on employee performance, but it has a positive and significant effect on job satisfaction. Furthermore, job satisfaction has a positive and significant effect on employee performance. The results of the indirect effect test showed that job satisfaction was able to significantly mediate the relationship between emotional intelligence and employee performance. These findings indicate that improving employee performance does not only depend on emotional intelligence alone, but also on the level of job satisfaction felt by employees. Therefore, organizations need to pay attention to managing factors that can increase job satisfaction in order to optimize employee performance in a sustainable manner.

References

Anggiani, D. (2024). The influence of civil servant competence on organizational performance in government agencies. Journal of Public Administration, 12(1), 55–67.

Atmaja, I. P. (2022). Organizational behavior and employee job satisfaction. Jakarta: Kencana.

Dahris, D., & Indrawan, M. I. (2023). The Influence of Human Resource Quality on Job Satisfaction with Competence as an Intervening Variable (Case Study at Dr. RM. Djoelham Hospital, Binjai City). International Journal of Economics, Management and Accounting (IJEMA), 1(3), 159-168.

Dini, R. P. (2024). The influence of competence, leadership style, and motivation on the performance of Generation Z employees with job satisfaction as a mediating variable. Indonesian Management Journal, 24(2), 145–160.

Goleman, D. (2020). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ (Revised ed.). New York: Bantam Books.

Goleman, D. (2023). Working with emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam Books.

Ibrahim, M., & Mesra, B. (2023). The Role of Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Mediating Work Motivation and Job Satisfaction on Employee Performance at the Medan Religious Education and Training Center. SINOMIKA Journal: Scientific Publications in Economics and Accounting, 2(3), 551-564.

Mesra, B., & Ferine, K. F. (2025, March). The Role of Competency in Mediating the Influence of Organizational Culture on Teacher Performance at SMP Negeri 1 Wih Pesam and SMP Negeri 1 Timang Gajah. In International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Navigation, Engineering, and Aviation Technology (Vol. 2, pp. 602-606).

Putri, A. R. (2025). The influence of emotional intelligence on public sector employee performance. Journal of Public Administration, 15(1), 22–35.

Rasyid, M. (2025). The mediating role of work ability on the effect of emotional intelligence on employee performance. Journal of Public Sector Studies, 8(2), 91–104.

Rizki, V. L. (2024). The Impact of Emotional Intelligence, Quality of Work Life, and Organizational Citizenship Commitment on Employee Performance at PT. Bintang Indonesia Lumajang. Management and Sustainable Development Journal, 6(1), 41-57.

Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. (2021). Management (15th ed.). Pearson.

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2020). Organizational behavior (18th ed.). Pearson.

Spencer, L. M., & Spencer, S. M. (1993). Competence at work: Models for superior performance. John Wiley & Sons.

Sugiyono. (2010). Quantitative, qualitative, and R&D research methods. Bandung: Alfabeta.

Sugiyono. (2021). Quantitative, Qualitative, and R&D Research Methods (Revised Edition). Bandung: Alfabeta.

Sutrisno, E. (2020). Human resource management. Jakarta: Kencana.

Tafonao, H. N., Ferine, K. F., & Rahayu, S. (2025, March). The Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Work-Life Balance with Job Satisfaction as a Mediating Variable among Health Workers at Puskesmas Tanah Tinggi Binjai. In International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Navigation, Engineering, and Aviation Technology (Vol. 2, pp. 490-492).

Tambunan, F. (2025). The effect of work motivation on employee performance with job satisfaction as a mediating variable in the DPRD Secretariat. Journal of Public Administration, 18(1), 77–89.

Widyastuti, S. (2025). Digital competence and leadership on employee performance with job satisfaction as a mediator. Journal of Public Policy, 7(3), 211–225.

Wijayanti, N. (2023). Mapping competencies and increasing the work productivity of public sector employees. Journal of Administration and Management, 14(2), 98–110.

Wijayanto, A. (2021). The influence of competence and job satisfaction on employee performance. Journal of Performance Management, 9(1), 33–45.

Wonda, Y. M. (2024). Emotional intelligence and public service performance among local government employees. Journal of Public Service Performance, 11(1), 44–58.

Downloads

Published

2025-10-27

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >>