The effect of human resource management on workload-mediated performance in inpatient health workers in Mental Hospitals in Southeast Sulawesi Province

The workload of health workers in the inpatient room of the Southeast Sulawesi Provincial Mental Hospital is still relatively high, as can be seen from the imbalance in the ratio of nurses and patients, the complexity of tasks, and the achievement of service indicators that are not optimal. This study aims to analyze the influence of HR management on performance, as well as examine the role of workload as a mediating variable in inpatient health workers. The study used an analytical survey design with a cross-sectional approach involving 91 respondents who were selected purposively. Data was collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling based on Partial Least Square (PLS) through the SmartPLS 3 application. The results showed that HR management had a positive and significant effect on workload (β = 0.249; t = 2.364; p = 0.018) and had a very significant effect on performance (β = 0.627; t = 8.797; p = 0.000). Workload also has a positive and significant effect on performance (β = 0.150; t = 1.990; p = 0.047), indicating that managed workload can serve as a challenge stressor that drives motivation and performance. The R² value shows that HR management explains 6.2% of workload variance, while HR management and workload together explain 46.2% of performance variance. A Q² value of 0.495 indicates that the model has strong predictive relevance. The research concluded that strengthening human resource management, especially planning, organizing, motivation, and evaluation in managing workloads and improving the performance of health workers. These findings can be the basis for HR policies related to shift management, competency improvement, and optimization of workload distribution to support the quality of mental health services.