Harmony in hectic: Exploring the relationship between work-life balance and working mothers' happiness through self esteem as mediator
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26486/psikologi.v27i1.3843Abstract
Social changes have transformed the role of a mother, leading many to pursue professional paths, often posing challenges in balancing work and personal well-being. The objective of this study was to examine the role of self-esteem in the relationship between work-life balance (WLB) and the happiness of working mom. This research used a quantitative approach. The respondents of this study were 200 working mothers aged 21 to 64 years who lived in the Greater Jakarta area. The sampling technique was purposive sampling. The measurement instruments used in this study consisted of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Work-Life Balance Scale. The research hypothesis was tested using Macro PROCESS v4.3 by Hayes. The research revealed that work-life balance significantly impacts the happiness of working mothers and self-esteem acts as a mediator between work-life balance and happiness. These findings indicated that a healthy work-life balance leads to increased satisfaction, acceptance, and self-esteem. High self-esteem individuals feel capable, meaningful, and valuable, leading to a positive affect and a better quality of life, which are the sources of happiness.
References
Achor, S. (2010). The happiness advantage: How a positive brain fuels success in work and life. Crown Currency.
Adnan Bataineh, K. (2019). Impact of work-life balance, happiness at work, on employee performance. International Business Research, 12(2), 99–112. https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v12n2p99
Alias, N. E., Nokman, F. N., Ismail, S., Koe, W. L., & Othman, R. (2018). The effect of payment, recognition, empowerment and work-life balance on job satisfaction in the Malaysia’s oil and gas industry. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(9), 639–656. https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v8-i9/4645
Annazah, S. N. (2021). Faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi wanita menikah berusia produktif untuk bekerja tahun 2019 (studi kasus provinsi jawa barat). Jurnal Ketenagakerjaan, 16(1), 61–74. https://doi.org/10.47198/naker.v16i1.87
Arsyam, M., & Tahir, M. (2021). Ragam jenis penelitian dan perspektif. Al-Ubudiyah: Jurnal Pendidikan dan Studi Islam, 14(2), 34–47.
http://jurnal.staiddimakassar.ac.id/index.php/aujpsi/article/download/17/17
Breton, B. M. (2007). Individualism, Collectivism, and High Self-esteem [Doctoral Dissertation]. Brigham Young University.
Brough, P., Timms, C., O’Driscoll, M. P., Kalliath, T., Siu, O. L., Sit, C., & Lo, D. (2014). Work–life balance: A longitudinal evaluation of a new measure across Australia and New Zealand workers. The International Journal of Human Resources Management, 25(19), 2724–2744. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2014.899262
Cahyani, A., Oktaviana, P., & Dwianto, A. S. (2024). The effect of work life balance on employee performance (Case Study at PT. Kamiidea Indonesia). Jurnal Bina Bangsa Ekonomika, 17(2), 2278-2283.
Carr, D., Freedman, V. A., Cornman, J. C., & Schwarz, N. (2014). Happy marriage, happy Life? Marital quality and subjective well-being in later life. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(5), 930–948. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12133
Cast, A. D., & Burke, P. J. (2002). A theory of self-esteem. Social Forces, 80(3), 1041–1068.
Chasanah, A., Najibah, H., Nisa, K., Novitasari, P., Indanah, I., & Yuli, Y. (2021). The stress of parenting in school-age children during the covid andemic in Pasuruhan Lor Jati Kudus village. University Research Colloquium, 293–300.
Dhingra, V., & Dhingra, M. (2021). Who doesn’t want to be happy? Measuring the impact of factors influencing work–life balance on subjective happiness of doctors. Ethics, Medicine and Public Health, 16, 100630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemep.2021.100630
Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55(1), 34–43.
Ditasari, N. N., Anindya, F., & Prabawati, M. (2020). Kebahagiaan pada ibu bekerja. Prosiding Seminar Nasional Dan Call Paper Psikologi Positif Menuju Mental Wellness: Fakultas Pendidikan Psikologi Universitas Negeri Malang Bersama Asosiasi Psikologi Positif Indonesia (AP2I), 89–96.
Dwianti, N. R. (2020). Pengaruh Social Media Use dan Work-Life balance terhadap Subjective Well-Being Perempuan Bekerja [Skripsi]. Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.
Elnanto, J. G., & Suharti, L. (2021). The impact of work from home to work life-balance and its implication to employee happiness. International Journal of Social Science and Business, 5(3), 311–318. https://doi.org/10.23887/ijssb.v5i3.35325
Fisher, G. G., Bulger, C. A., & Smith, C. S. (2009). Beyond work and family: A measure of work / nonwork interference and enhancement. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14(1), 441-456. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016737
Gröpel, P., & Kuhl, J. (2009). Work–life balance and subjective well‐being: The mediating role of need fulfilment. British Journal of Psychology, 100(2), 365–375.
https://doi.org/10.1348/000712608x337797
Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis A Regression-Based Approach (Second Edition). The Guildford Press.
Hermayanti, D. (2014). Kebermaknaan hidup dan konflik peran ganda pada wanita karier yang berkeluarga di kota samarinda. Psikoborneo:Jurnal Ilmiah Psikologi, 2(2), 85–90.
https://doi.org/10.30872/psikoborneo.v2i2.3645
Hills, P., & Argyle, M. (2002). The oxford happiness questionnaire: a compact scale for the measurement of psychological well-being. Personality amd Individual Differences, 33, 1073–1082. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0191-8869(01)00213-6
Hutagalung, B. A. (2022). Analisa faktor – faktor yang mempengaruhi kinerja pegawai: kompetensi , motivasi dan lingkungan kerja penelitian literature review manajemen sumber daya manusia. Jurnal Manajemen Ilmu Pendidikan Dan Ilmu Sosial, 3(1), 201–210. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.38035/jmpis.v3i1.866
Joo, B. K., & Lee, I. (2017). Workplace happiness: work engagement, career satisfaction, and subjective well-being. Evidence-Based HRM: A Global Forum for Empirical Scholarship, 5(2), 206–221. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebhrm-04-2015-0011
Khan, A. J., Bhatti, M. A., Hussain, A., Ahmad, R., & Iqbal, J. (2021). Employee job satisfaction in higher educational institutes: A review of theories. Journal of South Asian Studies, 6, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.33687/jsas.009.03.3940
Naithani, P. (2010). Recession and work-life balance initiatives. The Romanian Economic Journal, 13(37), 55–68.
O’Neil, D. A., Brooks, M. E., & Hopkins, M. M. (2018). Women’s roles in women’s career advancement: what do women expect of each other?, Career Development International, 23(3), 327–344. https://doi.org/10.1108/cdi-10-2017-0196
Orth, U., & Robins, R. W. (2022). Is high self-esteem beneficial? Revisiting a classic question. American Psychologist, 77(1), 5-17. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000922
Otken, A. B., & Erben, G. S. (2013). The relationship between work-life balance and happiness from the perspectives of generation X and Y. Humanities and Social Sciences Review, 2(4), 45–53.
Park, G. A., & Lee, O. N. (2022). The moderating effect of social support on parental stress and depression in mothers of children with disabilities. Occupational Therapy International, 2022(1), 5162954. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/5162954
Quach, E. D. (2017). Multiple Roles in Later Life: Role Enhancement and Conflict and Their Effects on Psychological Well-Being [Dissertation]. University of Massachusetts Boston.
Ruggeri, K., Garcia-Garzon, E., Maguire, A., Matz, S., & Huppert, F. A. (2020). Well-being is more than happiness and life satisfaction: a multidimensional analysis of 21 countries. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 18, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-020-01423-y
Saenghiran, N. (2014). Towards enhancing happiness at work: a case study. Social Research Report, 25, 21–33.
Seligman, M. E. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. Simon and Schuster.
Sen, C., & Hooja, H. (2018). Work-life balance: An overview. International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research, 7(1), 1–6.
Shaleh, A. R., Sholichatun, Y., Izzaty, R. E., Yulandari, E., Purwandari, E., Khumas, A., Nurssakinah, D., Triwahyuningsih, Y., Situmorang, N., Jannah, M., & Raharjo, W. (2020). Bahagia dan bermakna. CV. AA.
Sharma, J., & Afroz, N. (2019). Role of self-esteem and work-life balance in life-satisfaction of working women. Indian Journal of Human Relations, 53(1), 21–30.
Sheldon, K. M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2004). Achieving sustainable new happiness: Prospects, practices, and prescriptions. Positive Psychology in Practice, 127–145. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470939338.ch8
Susanto, P., Hoque, M. E., Jannat, T., Emely, B., Zona, M. A., & Islam, Md. A. (2022). Work-life balance, job satisfaction, and job performance of SMEs employees: The moderating role of family-supportive supervisor behaviors. Sec. Organizational Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.906876
Tripathi, V., Shukla, S. M., & Rendev, K. (2016). Determinant of work life balance of working mothers. Management Insight, 12(2), 14–27.
Ullah, M. H., & Siddiqui, D. A. (2020). Does learning, development and work-life balance affect happiness? A moderated mediatory model. SSRN Electronic Journal. Doi:https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3683186
Wang, J., Zou, R., Wu, N., Fu, H., He, Y., Crawford, P., Kane, E., & Dai, J. (2022). Depressive symptoms, social support, and health-related quality of life: A community-based study in Shanghai, China. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 113, 152292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2021.152292
Wong, K., Chan, A., & Teh, P. (2020). How is work-life balance arrangement associated with organisational performance? A meta-analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 17(12), 4446. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17124446
Zaluchu, S. E. (2021). Metode penelitian di dalam manuskrip jurnal ilmiah keagamaan. Jurnal Teologi Berita Hidup, 3(2), 249–266. https://doi.org/10.38189/jtbh.v3i2.93
Zur Raffar, I. N. A., Hamjah, S. H., & Sulaiman, S. (2021). Challenges of educating adolescents in muslim families at Putrajaya. Social Sciences, 11(9), 1307–1317. https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v11-i9/10840
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 InSight: Jurnal Ilmiah Psikologi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with INSIGHT: Jurnal Ilmiah Psikologi agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the Insight right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) the work for any purpose, even commercially with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in Insight. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in Insight.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
