The Relationship between Salary Satisfaction, Interpersonal Relationships, and Job Flexibility to Employee Engagement

Abstract

Employee engagement has become a critical determinant of organizational sustainability, particularly within the increasingly competitive professional services sector. This study examines the influence of salary satisfaction, interpersonal relationships, and work flexibility on employee engagement among 150 permanent employees working in consultancy and technology firms in Jakarta. Utilizing a quantitative design and Structural Equation Modeling–Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS), the results reveal that all three predictors—salary satisfaction (β = 0.421, p < 0.001), interpersonal relationships (β = 0.354, p < 0.001), and work flexibility (β = 0.298, p < 0.001)—significantly and positively impact employee engagement. Instrument testing demonstrates strong reliability and validity, with Cronbach’s Alpha values exceeding 0.839 and AVE values above 0.75, confirming robust convergent validity. Despite these statistically significant relationships, the descriptive findings indicate relatively low mean scores across all variables (mean ≈ 2.0–2.1), suggesting employees hold suboptimal perceptions regarding compensation fairness, relational support, and flexibility policies. These insights point to the importance for organizations to improve compensation transparency, cultivate supportive interpersonal climates, and institutionalize flexible work arrangements. The study contributes to the organizational behavior literature by jointly assessing psychological, relational, and structural drivers of employee engagement within emerging digital work environments. It underscores the need for aligned human resource strategies to foster more consistent and sustainable engagement levels among professional service employees.