THE EFFECT OF WORK ENVIRONMENT ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE WITH MOTIVATION AS A MEDIATING VARIABLE AT THE MINISTRY OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIR OF PALANGKA RAYA CITY

This research tends to scrutinize the work environment’s impact with motivation as a mediating variable on employee performance at the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Palangka Raya City. The background phenomenon is suboptimal physical work environment conditions, including limited workspace, inadequate work facilities, and poor air circulation. This study utilizes an associative quantitative approach employing a survey technique. The population involved 133 employees with 100 respondents choosed by Slovin's formula and proportionate stratified random sampling. Data were gathered employing Likert-scale questionnaires and scrutinized employing Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4.0 application. The work environment variable was calculated employing indicators of work atmosphere, peer relationships, and work facilities (Nitisemito in Sudaryo et al., 2022). Motivation was scrutinized employing Maslow's hierarchy of needs (Robbins & Judge, 2022), and employee performance was measured using Robbins & Judge's (2022) indicators. The findings are expected to demonstrate that work environment positively and significantly impacts employee performance, work environment positively affects work motivation, motivation positively impacts employee performance, and work motivation mediates the correlation between work environment and employee performance.