629 THE EFFECT OF PLACEMENT AND WORKLOAD ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE WITH MOTIVATION AS A MEDIATION VARIABLE AT PT. BANK LAMPUNG Volume: 3 Number: 3 Page: 629 – 637 Anita OCTAVIA1, RR ERLINA2, Nova MARDIANA3 1Magister of Management, University of Lampung, Indonesia 2,3Management, University of Lampung, Indonesia Corresponding author: Anita Octavia E-mail: anitagultommm@gmail.com Article History: Received: 2022-10-18 Revised: 2022-11-18 Accepted: 2022-11-25 Abstract: The role of HR in the company is very important in the company's activities. Factors such as work placement, workload, and work motivation are important factors that determine employee performance. This study aims to determine the effect of work placement and workload on employee performance which is mediated by work motivation in employees of PT Bank Lampung. The sample of this research is 252 employees of PT. Lampung Bank. Data collection through a questionnaire based on a stratified random sampling technique and processed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with the help of AMOS software. The results of this study indicate that employee placement has a positive and significant effect on employee performance, the workload has a positive and significant effect on employee performance, employee placement has a positive and significant effect on work motivation, the workload has a negative and insignificant effect on work motivation, work motivation has a positive effect and significant to employee performance, employee placement has an indirect effect on employee performance through the mediating variable of work motivation, and workload has an indirect effect on employee performance through the mediation variable of work motivation. This needs to be considered by the management of PT. To increase motivation and performance, Bank Lampung pays attention to the placement and workload of each employee according to the field and expectations so that the company's goals can be achieved. Keywords: Work Placement, Workload, Work Motivation, Employee Performance Cite this as: OCTAVIA, A., ERLINA, RR., MARDIANA, N. (2022). “The Effect of Placement and Workload on Employee Performance with Motivation as a Mediation Variable at PT Bank Lampung.” International Journal Of Environmental, Sustainability and Social Science, 3 (3), 629 - 637. INTRODUCTION Human resource management is acquiring, training, appraising and compensating employees, paying attention to employee relations, health, safety and justice issues. Companies must improve their employees' quality with a good HR development system. Factors such as work placement, workload, and work motivation are important factors that determine employee performance. The company evaluates these factors at any time to see the situation and needs of employees so that the performance provided is appropriate. Employee placement, according to Mathis and Jackson (2016), is placing a person's position into the right job position; how well an employee fits his job will affect the quantity and quality of work. One of the findings obtained by the author in the exit meeting matrix report on the results of the OJK examination at PT Bank Lampung Branch Office Kotabumi in 2021 showed data on the discrepancy between the number of ideal positions with the reality of the positions being filled. mailto:anitagultommm@gmail.com 630 Table 1. Organizational structure regarding formation vacancies in sub-branches under the Branch Office Kotabumi No. Operational Office Existing Ideal 1. Bukit Kemuning 10 13 2. Liwa 16 18 3. Krui 12 18 4. Daya Murni 10 18 5. Baradatu 12 18 6. Abung Semuli 10 13 7. Pulung Kencana 10 13 Source: Exit meeting matrix report on the results of the OJK inspection at PT Bank Lampung Branch Office Kotabumi, 2021 Previous research related to work placement resulted in research related to job rotation. Employees who rotated their jobs more often had lower performance than employees who rarely did job rotations (Kampkötter et al., 2018). Based on the author's observations and some information from employees, there are more than 23 types of positions. At least in an organizational structure, the Head Office and Branch Offices have a minimum standard to run well. However, the situation in the field is that many positions are not filled and replaced by employees with other positions, thus allowing the abilities and characteristics of workers to be inconsistent with the position in which the employee is assigned (see Figure 1). Source: Human Capital Division of PT. Bank Lampung, 2021 Figure 1. Position of Employee of PT Bank Lampung Placement in accordance with the employee's capacity will make it easier for the employee to complete all the work and workload given. However, if there is a mismatch in the placement and capacity of the employee, the workload given will be considered excessive. Employee workload is defined as the perceived relationship between the amount of mental processing ability or resources required to complete a task. Previous research conducted by Bruggen (2015) shows that a workload that is too high or too low will make employee performance decrease, while at a suitable 167 4 13 10 55 2 4 62 31 18 2 27 7 14 37 15 39 50 189 20 2 91 84 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 Number and Type of Employee Positions 631 workload, employee performance will increase. The high workload, work pressure and limited work capacity of employees will eventually result in work stress and reduce employee motivation. According to Armstrong (2014), the understanding of motivation is the strength and direction of behavior and factors that influence a person to behave in a certain way. Research conducted by Guo (2021) explains that dual leadership (zhongyong and ethical leadership) in promoting employee growth in the workplace is positively correlated with intrinsically motivating employees, which plays a mediating role. In particular, higher levels of ethical leadership, zhongyong leadership, can significantly increase employee intrinsic motivation, and as a result, employee development in the workplace will be stronger. Observations made by researchers in terms of employee placement policies, PT Bank Lampung has employee placement policies and practices that need to be studied on how employee placement and workload affect work motivation and employee performance. Performance is behavior or actions related to goals in an organization, meaning that the behavior or activities carried out must be in accordance with the goals of the organization (Koopsman, 2011). The researcher conducted several studies on employee performance data at PT Bank Lampung to see whether the research hypothesis was appropriate. In 2021, during the current pandemic, the banking sector was a business sector that was slightly affected. The limited space for workers to move, the people's low purchasing power, and the economic downturn have forced people's credit flows to decline, and they are saving more just in case. This has an effect on company profits, especially in the banking sector, which is driven by business loans. All shares of PT Bank Lampung belong to the local government, and the largest is the government of Lampung Province. (Shown in Table 2). Table 2. Shareholders of PT Bank Lampung (OJK, 2018) Shareholders % 1 Lampung Provincial Government 36,30 2 South Lampung Regency Government 8,73 3 Central Lampung Regency Government 7,26 4 The government of Tanggamus Regency 3,95 5 North Lampung Regency Government 6,63 6 City Government of Bandar Lampung 7,07 7 East Lampung Regency Government 2,06 8 West Lampung Regency Government 4,57 9 The government of the Tulang Bawang Regency 4,08 10 Metro City Government 5,93 11 Way Kanan District Government 3,06 12 Pringsewu Regency Government 2,36 13 Government of Pesawaran Regency 0,54 14 West Tuba Regency Government 1,88 15 Mesuji District Government 1,41 16 West Coast District Government 2,36 17 Other Third Parties 1,81 Assessment of previous research and data obtained from PT Bank Lampung, many factors influence the performance of PT Bank Lampung. HR management is one factor that needs to be studied and has the most influence on performance. In this case, the research focuses on strategies carried out by PT Bank Lampung to place employees, workload, and employee motivation. The placement of employees will provide different job descriptions related to 632 workload and work motivation for competent employees; it is estimated that this can affect employee performance to be less than optimal. This study aims to determine the effect of employee placement, and workload, on employee performance which is mediated by PT Bank Lampung's work motivation. METHODS This type of research is explanatory research using a quantitative. The population in this study were all PT. Bank Lampung employees in Lampung Province, totaling 788 employees. Determination of the minimum sample size in this study refers to the statement by Hair et al. (2014) that the number of samples as respondents is adjusted to the number of question indicators used in the questionnaire, assuming n x 5 observed variables (indicators) up to n x 10 observed variables (indicators). The sample size collected was 252 respondents. The data source of this research is primary data, with the method of collecting data using a questionnaire. In this study, the variables used are as follows: employee placement variable using measurement with 13 question items developed by Siengthai (2016), workload variable using measurement with 10 question items developed by Sellers et al. (2014), work motivation variable using measurement with 11 question items developed by Van et al. (2005) and employee performance using measurements developed by Koopmans et al. (2012) which amounts to 14 question items. The measurement of this research instrument uses a Likert scale. The instrument test of this research consisted of a validity test, reliability test, and normality test. The data analysis methods used were structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis using the AMOS program tool consisting of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), evaluation of the goodness of fit criteria, and a hypothesis test. RESULT AND DISCUSSION The descriptive data in this study was in the gender category with the male sex with a frequency of 140 or 55.6%. Furthermore, the number of respondents of the female gender has a frequency of 112 or 44.4%. Employees with 0-2 years of service are 42 employees or 16.7%, employees with 3-5 years of service are 42 employees or 16.7%, employees with 6-15 years of service are 138 employees or 54.8% and employees with 16-30 years as many as 30 employees or 11.9%. Age of employees under 25 years are 7 employees or 2.8%, age of employees with 25-35 years are 179 employees or 71%, age of employees with 36-45 years are 38 employees or 15.1%, age of employees with 46-55 years are 27 employees or 10.7%, and age of employees above 55 years are 1 employee or 0.4%. SEM Analysis. The model used in this research is causality or relationship, or influence model, and to test the proposed hypothesis, the analysis technique used is SEM (Structural Equation Models). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was carried out with the help of the AMOS program. The AMOS program demonstrates the measurement and structural problems used to analyze and test the model hypothesis. Ferdinand (2002). Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The measurement stage of the indicators that make up the latent variables in the research model is carried out using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A questionnaire's high and low validity can be known by looking at the loading factor through the SEM AMOS application, with a loading factor value > 0.50. In the loading factor analysis results, there is no evaluation of the variable coefficients with indicators. The coefficient value meets the requirements, with the best loading model value that meets the standard (> 0.5). This indicates that the model has good validity and reliability. Figure 4 is the result of data processing for confirmatory factor analysis of all constructs in this study. 633 Figure 2. Construct Confirmatory Factor Analysis Evaluation of Goodness of Fit criteria. The goodness of the model test was used to test the model in this study. Several conformity indices and limit values test whether a model can be accepted or rejected. The results of the measurement model fit test can be seen in Table 3. Table 3. Conformity Results of Goodness of Fit Measurement Model Criteria Goodness of Fit Cut-off Value Evaluasi Model Chi-Square 3118,578 Expected small Fit CMIN/ DF 1,075 < 2,00 Fit RMSEA 0,06 < 0,08 Fit GFI 1,098 > 0,90 Fit AGFI 0,982 > 0,90 Fit TLI 1,372 > 0,90 Fit Table 3 above shows that 6 goodness of fit criteria have met the cut-off value, meaning that the evaluation results show a good model. This explains that the measurement model used in this study produces the expected level of estimation so that the output of this model is used to explain the relationship between indicators and the appropriate construction. Hypothesis testing. The model has been tested so that it can be tested on the hypothesis. The basis for making a decision to test the hypothesis is done by comparing the magnitude of p with a significant level of 5% (alpha = 0.05), if p is less than the alpha, then the null hypothesis (H0) is rejected, and if p is greater than alpha, then the null hypothesis ( H0) is accepted. The results of the hypothesis can be seen in Table 4. Table 4. Standardized Regression Weight Structural Equational Model Estimate SE. CR. P R-Square X1 <--> Z 0,805 0,019 4,424 *** 0,699 X2 <--> Z 0,001 0,014 0,038 0,970 634 Estimate SE. CR. P R-Square X1 <--> Y 0,124 0,020 6,282 *** Z <--> Y 0,704 0,016 4,619 *** 0,679 X2 <--> Y 0,504 0,014 3,930 *** Table 5. Standardized Indirect Effects AMOS X1 X2 Z Y Z ,000 ,000 ,000 ,000 Y ,227 ,185 ,000 ,000 Information: X1: Employee Placement Z: Work Motivation X2: Workload Y: Employee Performance Based on Table 5 obtained: Employee placement = 0.805 Work Motivation + 0.124 Employee Performance = 0.001 Workload + 0.504 Employee Performance + 0.704 Work Motivation Based on Table 4.11, the R square value for the influence of employee placement and workload on work motivation is 0.699. This shows that the placement of staff and workload variables together can explain the work motivation variable of 69.9%, while other variables outside the study explain the remaining 30.1%. The R square value for the effect of work motivation, employee placement and workload on employee performance is 0.679. This shows that working motivation, placement and workload variables together can explain the employee performance variable by 67.9%, while other variables outside the research explain the remaining 32.1%. DISCUSSION The Effect of Employee Placement on Employee Performance. The data analysis results show that employee placement affects employee performance. This indicates that certain fields require employees who have special abilities, so to occupy certain positions, employees are required to have a background of skills, education and expertise in accordance with their fields. In this study, it can also be seen from the results of the respondents' answers that employees who have special skills and education according to their fields have better performance, namely in terms of timeliness of reporting, ability to complete each job, fewer mistakes made and increased work performance. . The research results are proven to be supported by previous research by Siengthai and Pila-Ngarm (2016) found that job redesign is significantly related to employee performance. While job satisfaction was found to be positively and significantly related to employee performance. Furthermore, the interaction effect between job redesign (position change) and job satisfaction was positively and significantly related to employee performance. Effect of Workload on Employee Performance. The results of the study show that workload affects employee performance. The current phenomenon is that the workload of employees at the Head Office and the Operational Office is high due to the vacant position formations in several PTs. Bank Lampung, several employees, do other things outside their duties and responsibilities. The workload is very high above the capacity of the employees of PT. Bank Lampung can make work tasks unfinished and make work results not good. This causes the employee's mental breakdown and undermines self-confidence, so in the end, the employee's performance decreases. Less workload makes work assignments completed quickly, and work during working time 635 becomes unassigned. This results in employees doing other things to fill the time, thus reducing employees' ability in their main tasks and decreasing employee performance. The workload must be given according to the capacity of the employee. With the right workload, the employee will carry out the work well, on time, and produce good work. The results of this study are supported by the theory of Bruggen (2015). The study revealed an inverse U-shape relationship between workload and quantitative task performance. Employee performance is high when the workload is moderate but decreases when the workload is too low or too high. The Effect of Employee Placement on Work Motivation. The study results show that employees' placement affects work motivation. Placement of employees in certain positions in accordance with their abilities and desires, a supportive environment makes the work done well and the job achievement also better. This greatly impacts increasing responsibility, encouraging development, and stimulating motivation to work better. The management of PT. Bank Lampung must be careful in placing employees according to their abilities, skills and work experience to increase employee motivation. The results of this research are supported by previous research by Niessen et al., (2016), showing the need to relate humans to job crafting when self-efficacy is high. There is evidence that job crafting as a self-oriented behavior is positively related to people's job fit. In addition, Al-Musadieq et al. (2018) research show a significant direct effect of work design on human resource performance and employee motivation. Effect of workload on work motivation. The study results show that workload has no direct effect on work motivation. In contrast, a high workload has an impact on the mentality of workers and makes employee work motivation decrease. The workload is influenced by several factors, namely internal factors (physical, age, and gender) and external factors (tasks and work environment). This factor affects the ability to accept assignments by employees, high workloads above the ability to make employees produce bad work. The impact is that employees have no self-confidence in carrying out the tasks given as for the results of previous research by Neneng & Febsri (2022), which discussed workload having a negative and significant effect on the work motivation of employees of Human Resources and Employee Development Agency (BKPSDM) of Pesisir Selatan Regency. This shows that the higher the workload, the lower the work motivation. Conversely, the lower the workload, the higher the work motivation. The Effect of Work Motivation on Employee Performance. The study results show that work motivation influences employee performance, where employees who have high motivation have responsibility for the work assignments given, have the stimulus to work better, and desire to improve themselves so they can complete the task well. This affects the results of employees. In general, performance is related to the ability of employees to do their job well or not (Schmidt, 2002). The results are supported by previous research by Çetin & Aşkun (2018) that organizations work hard to increase the motivation of their employees and related knowledge, skills and abilities to improve performance. The multilevel analysis results confirm the hypothesis by showing that job self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation have a significant effect on performance. Currently, the management of PT. Bank Lampung makes an action planning program regarding the best employee of the month, which is currently running in every operational office. The best employee of the month program is seen from the performance appraisal of each employee every month, and there is a reward for those selected as the best employee of the month. This is done to increase employee motivation. In addition, to strengthen the synergy between employees and improve the performance of the Head Office, Branch Offices and Sub-Branch Offices, the management of PT. Bank Lampung makes an Employee Gathering and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) work program held every year at least 1 (once) time. So, this activity is expected to increase employee motivation by refreshing work and high enthusiasm for work again. 636 The Effect of Employee Placement on Employee Performance Through Work Motivation. Based on data analysis, it shows that work motivation has a significant effect as a mediator on performance. Internal and external factors, such as working conditions, salary or wages, quality of supervision, interpersonal relationships and policies, influence increasing employee motivation. Employee placement is related to the leader providing duties and working conditions for an employee. To improve the performance of employees of PT. Bank Lampung, leaders must provide appropriate tasks, help increase work motivation, and build working conditions that support workers, so that it will indirectly affect the performance of employees of PT. Lampung Bank. Research conducted by Al-Musadieq et al. (2018) on the mediating effect of work motivation on job design and organizational culture on human resource performance. It can be concluded from the analysis results that work design indirectly affects human resource performance through the mediating variable of work motivation. Meanwhile, work motivation is not the influence of organizational culture on human resource performance. Effect of Workload on Employee Performance Through Work Motivation. Data analysis shows that work motivation acts as a variable that mediates workload and employee performance and indirectly influences performance. A high workload can reduce work motivation, which can make the implementation of work unfavorable. In assigning work assignments, HR management must provide tasks and responsibilities with appropriate workloads, not too high or low, to maintain employee motivation. Good workload regulation indirectly gives employees good work motivation, and in the end, employees give good performance. Research conducted by Liu et al. (2018) shows that intrinsic motivation fully mediates the relationship between organizational support and work-related fatigue while partially mediates the relationship between quantitative workload and work-related fatigue. CONCLUSION 1. The results of the study show that the placement of employees affects employee performance. Thus, the first hypothesis in this study which states that "employee placement has a positive and significant effect on employee performance", is supported. 2. The results of the study show that workload affects employee performance. Thus, the second hypothesis in this study which states that "workload has a positive and significant effect on employee performance", is supported. 3. The study results show that employees' placement affects work motivation. Thus, the third hypothesis in this study which states that "employee placement has a positive and significant effect on work motivation", is supported. 4. The results of the study show that workload does not have a direct effect on work motivation. Thus, the fourth hypothesis in this study which states that "workload has a positive and significant effect on work motivation", is not supported. 5. The results of the study show that work motivation has a direct effect on employee performance. Thus, the fifth hypothesis in this study which states "work motivation has a positive and significant effect on employee performance", is supported. 6. The results of this study indicate that the role of motivation mediates the effect of the placement of employees on employee performance. Thus, the sixth hypothesis in this study which states "work motivation has a role in mediating the indirect effect of placement on employee performance", is supported. 7. 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