From Pressure to Dissatisfaction: The Mediating Mechanisms of Work-Life Conflict Dimensions in the Relationship between Work Overload and Job Satisfaction

Abstract

Persistent workload pressure in public healthcare institutions raises concerns about declining job satisfaction, particularly when excessive job demands disrupt the balance between professional and personal roles. This study investigates the direct and indirect effects of work overload on job satisfaction through the mediating mechanisms of work-life conflict among nurses at RSUD Dr. Muhammad Zein Painan, a regional public hospital in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Grounded in the Job Demands-Resources theory, work-life conflict is conceptualized as a reflective-reflective second-order construct comprising Work Interference with Life (WIL) and Life Interference with Work (LIW). A quantitative explanatory design was employed using purposive sampling, involving 158 nurses assigned to inpatient wards and the emergency department. Data were collected through a five-point Likert scale questionnaire and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling with the Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) approach. The findings indicate that work overload exerts a negative and significant direct effect on job satisfaction and positively influences both WIL and LIW, suggesting intensified bidirectional role interference. However, only LIW demonstrates a negative and significant effect on job satisfaction, whereas WIL does not show a significant direct relationship. Mediation analysis reveals that LIW provides complementary mediation in the relationship between work overload and job satisfaction, while WIL exhibits direct-only non-mediation. Higher-order construct evaluation confirms that both dimensions significantly form work-life conflict, with LIW showing a slightly stronger contribution. These results demonstrate an asymmetric transmission mechanism in which reverse role interference plays a more critical role in translating workload pressure into reduced job satisfaction. The study refines demand-based explanations of employee attitudes in public healthcare contexts and emphasizes the strategic importance of workload management and institutional support systems in sustaining nurses’ job satisfaction.