The Role of Work Motivation in Mediating the Influence of Leadership on Employees Performance at the West Medan District Office

Abstract

Employee performance is an important factor in supporting the success of public services in government agencies, including the West Medan Sub-District Office. Variations in the quality of work output, timeliness of task completion, and the level of employee initiative indicate that employee performance still needs to be improved. One factor that is thought to influence employee performance is leadership, both directly and through work motivation. This study aims to analyze the influence of leadership on employee performance with work motivation as a mediating variable at the West Medan Sub-District Office. This study uses a quantitative approach with a census method of all 60 civil servants (PNS). Data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed using the Partial Least Square (PLS) method with the help of the SmartPLS application. The results show that leadership has a positive and significant effect on employee performance and work motivation. Work motivation is also proven to have a positive and significant effect on employee performance. In addition, the results of the indirect effect test show that work motivation acts as a significant mediating variable in the relationship between leadership and employee performance. These findings indicate that improving employee performance can be achieved through strengthening effective leadership and increasing employee work motivation. This study is expected to serve as a consideration for the leadership of the West Medan Subdistrict Office in formulating leadership development policies and work motivation enhancement strategies to improve the quality of public services.