Optimising Employee Performance: A Flexibility, Job Design, and Ethics Approach

Aims: This study aims to analyze the influence of work flexibility, work characteristics, and work ethics on employee performance, both partially and simultaneously, in the context of public organizations. Methodology: This study uses a quantitative design with an explanatory approach to test the causal relationship between the variables studied. The research was conducted at the Intermediate Tax Service Office (KPP) Medan, North Sumatra Province, for three months, from January 2025 to March 2025. The research population amounted to 118 employees with a sample of 54 people determined through proportional random sampling techniques. Primary data was collected through a Likert scale-based questionnaire. Data analysis used multiple linear regression with stages of validity, reliability, classical assumption, t-test, F-test, and determination coefficient. Results: The results of the study show that work flexibility and work ethics have a significant positive effect on employee performance. Meanwhile, the characteristics of the job did not have a significant effect. Simultaneously, the three variables had a significant influence with a determination coefficient value (R²) of 0.718, which means that 71.8% of the variation in performance can be explained by the research model. Conclusion: Work flexibility and work ethics are the dominant factors in improving employee performance at KPP Madya Medan, while job characteristics require further management in order to be able to make a real contribution to performance. The novelty of this research lies in its focus on examining the combined influence of work flexibility, job characteristics, and work ethics on employee performance within a public-sector taxation institution, a context that has received limited empirical attention.