The Effect of Career Path on Employee Performance through Sustainable Leadership and Work Engagement as Mediating Variables among Employees of Contact Center PLN 123 Site Jakarta

Abstract

Declining employee performance in demanding contact center environments underscores the importance of structured career development and supportive leadership practices. This study examined the relationship between career paths and employee performance, with sustainable leadership and work engagement serving as individual and serial mediators among employees at Contact Center PLN 123 Site Jakarta. A quantitative explanatory research design employing a cross-sectional survey was adopted. A total of 160 customer service officers were selected from a population of 194 employees using purposive sampling. Data were collected through a 37-item questionnaire using a five-point Likert scale and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4 and 5,000 bootstrap resamples. All 11 hypotheses were supported, demonstrating positive and statistically significant direct and indirect relationships. Career paths exhibited a positive and significant direct relationship with employee performance (? = 0.242, p = 0.002), while work engagement demonstrated the strongest direct relationship with employee performance (? = 0.370, p < 0.001). The serial mediating effect of sustainable leadership and work engagement was statistically significant (? = 0.112, p < 0.001), indicating complementary partial mediation. The model explained 66.1% of the variance in employee performance. These findings were consistent with the motivational process proposed by the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model, highlighting the importance of career development, sustainable leadership, and work engagement in enhancing employee performance. Integrating transparent career advancement pathways, sustainable leadership practices, and employee engagement initiatives may provide an effective strategy for improving employee performance and service quality in contact center environments.