Fostering Employee Performance Through Innovative Work Behavior: The Roles of Work Flexibility and Transformational Leadership

This study aims to examine the effects of work flexibility and transformational leadership on employee performance with innovative work behavior as a mediating variable. Using a quantitative survey approach, data were collected from 80 employees of the Regional Public Drinking Water Company Tirta Amertha Buana in Tabanan Regency, Indonesia. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS 3 was employed for data analysis. The results reveal that work flexibility significantly enhances employee performance and has a strong positive influence on innovative work behavior. Although transformational leadership does not directly impact employee performance significantly, it strongly influences innovative work behavior, which in turn mediates the relationship with performance. The findings underscore the strategic importance of fostering innovation through flexible work arrangements and transformational leadership, especially in public sector organizations aiming for higher efficiency and service quality. This study contributes both theoretically and practically by emphasizing innovative work behavior as a crucial mechanism in achieving employee performance improvements.