Organizational culture and commitment among Generation Z: The mediating role of employee engagement

Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractAs the global workforce undergoes significant demographic change, organizations in Indonesia face increasing challenges in maintaining organizational commitment among Generation Z employees during shifting work values and high labor mobility. This study examines the effect of organizational culture on organizational commitment and investigates the mediating role of employee engagement. Based on job demands–resources theory and social exchange theory, a quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted. Data were collected in 2025 through purposive sampling from 271 Generation Z employees working in organizations located in Jakarta, Indonesia. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS using a two-stage approach for higher-order constructs. The findings show that organizational culture is strongly positively associated with employee engagement (β = 0.793; t = 34.590; p < 0.001), explaining 62.9% of the variance in engagement (R2 = 0.629). Employee engagement significantly affects organizational commitment (β = 0.524; t = 4.847; p < 0.001) and demonstrates a significant indirect mediating role in the relationship between organizational culture and organizational commitment (β = 0.416; t = 4.685; p < 0.001). However, the direct association between organizational culture and organizational commitment is not statistically significant (β = 0.168; p = 0.092). These results suggest that organizational commitment is shaped mainly by engagement experiences rather than by organizational culture alone, highlighting engagement as an important instrument for sustaining workplace bonds.