Understanding Employee Engagement Among Generation Z : Stress and Workplace Perspective

Abstract

Employee engagement has become a strategic concern in human resource management, particularly among Generation Z employees who are expected to dominate the future workforce. However, maintaining high engagement remains challenging due to increasing job stress and suboptimal psychosocial work environment. This study examines the effects of the non physical work environment and job stress on employee engagement among Generation Z employees in Bandung, Indonesia. A Quantitative explanatory approach was employed using survey data collected from 100 Generation Z employees selected through purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, validity and reliability testing, classical assumption test and multiple linear regression analysis to assess both partial and simultaneous effect among variables. The findings indicate that employee engagement was at a moderately high level, while the non-physical work environment was perceived as moderately favorable and job stress was relatively high. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the non-physical work environment had a positive and significant effect on employee engagement, whereas job stress had a negative and significant effect. The non-physical work environment explained 28.9% of the variance in employee engagement, job stress explained 17.6%, and both variables simultaneously accounted for 47.95% of the variance (R² = 0.4795, p < 0.001). These findings support the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) Theory, suggesting that employee engagement is shaped by the balance between job resources and job demands. The study concludes that supportive psychosocial workplace conditions and effective stress management are essential for enhancing employee engagement, employee retention and long term organizational performance among Generation Z employees.