Workplace Happiness and Retention Strategies for Generation Z in Jakarta Startups
Article Sidebar
-
Organizational Justice, Job Autonomy, Happiness at Work, Employee Retention, Generation Z
Abstract
Employee retention, especially among Generation Z, is a major difficulty for startup businesses in today's quickly changing workplace. The decision to stay with an organization is heavily influenced by this generational cohort's strong values for job autonomy, organizational fairness, and general job satisfaction. With a focus on startup workers situated in Jakarta's Special Capital Region, this study examines the relationship between job autonomy and organizational justice and employee retention, utilizing workplace happiness as a mediating variable. A quantitative research methodology was used to gather information from 308 permanent non-managerial employees. The results show that job autonomy and organizational justice both significantly improve employee retention, and that these associations are mediated by workplace satisfaction. In order to improve retention among Generation Z talent, these findings have practical ramifications for startups, highlighting the significance of establishing fair workplace policies, encouraging individual autonomy, and developing a pleasant corporate climate that supports employee well-being.
Full text article
References
[1] M. Abou-Shouk, H. Hamad, and S. Muhammad, “The impact of organisational justice and job autonomy on employee retention: the mediation of psychological ownership,” African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 447–460, 2023.
[2] M. Ramaditya, D. Lusiana, D. O. Syah, A. Muditomo, D. Herlambang, and A. Parastry, “Digitalization of microfinance institutions as a solution for community economic empowerment: Case study of bmd syariah,” Jurnal Reviu Akuntansi Dan Keuangan, vol. 15, no. 1, 2025.
[3] A. B. Bakker and E. Demerouti, “Job demands–resources theory: Frequently asked questions.” Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, vol. 29, no. 3, p. 188, 2024.
[4] M. N. Medina-Craven and K. Ostermeier, “Investigating justice and bullying among healthcare workers,” Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 31–44, 2020.
[5] S. Bahri and M. Ramaditya, “Innovation of the finished banknotes business model changes in indonesian banknotes printing,” Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, vol. 10, no. 3, p. 100323, 2024.
[6] M. Ramaditya, S. Effendi, and A. Burda, “Survival and human resource strategies of private higher education in facing an era of change: Insight from indonesia,” in Frontiers in Education, vol. 8. Frontiers Media SA, 2023, p. 1141123.
[7] M. Ramaditya and F. I. Sundari, “The role of servant leadership in imrpoving entrepreneurial mindset, climate, knowledge management, organization development and its impact on higher education performance,” Business Review and Case Studies, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 303–303, 2023.
[8] R. Ravina-Ripoll, G. A. D´ıaz-Garc´ıa, E. Ahumada-Tello, and E. Galv´an-Vela, “Emotional wage, happiness at work and organisational justice as triggers for happiness management,” Journal of Management Development, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 236–252, 2024.
[9] M. Ramaditya, E. Manalu, A. R. A. Hadi, D. O. Syah, and D. Lusiana, “Tales of brand admiration: Insight from automotive industry in indonesia,” Jurnal Organisasi dan Manajemen, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 307–323, 2024.
[10] S. MM et al., “Influence of empowerment, psychological contract and employee engagement on voluntary turnover intentions,” International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 70, no. 2, pp. 325–349, 2021.
[11] M. Ramaditya, S. Effendi, and N. A. Syahrani, “Does toxic leadership, employee welfare, job insecurity, and work incivility have an impact on employee innovative performance at private universities in lldikti iii area?” Jurnal Aplikasi Bisnis dan Manajemen (JABM), vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 830–830, 2023.
[12] S. A. Sibagariang, N. Septiani, and A. Rodriguez, “Enhancing educational management through social media and e-commerce-driven branding,” International Journal of Cyber and IT Service Management (IJCITSM), vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 235–245, 2025.
[13] F. Sutisna, N. Lutfiani, E. Anderson, D. Danang, and M. O. Syaidina, “E-commerce and digital marketing strategies: Their impact on startupreneur performance using pls-sem,” IAIC Transactions on Sustainable Digital Innovation (ITSDI), vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 215–223, 2025.
[14] E. Yulianti and F. P. Sary, “The influence of work motivation and work-life balance on job satisfaction among generation z employees in dki jakarta,” Eduvest-Journal of Universal Studies, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 6525–6536, 2025.
[15] R. S. A. Selvi and V. Madhavkumar, “The mediating effect of happiness at workplace on the relationship between hybrid work model and employee retention in it industry,” International Journal of Industrial Management, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 40–49, 2023.
[16] C. Imelita, “The influence of work-life balance, work environment, and salary satisfaction towards jakarta gen z’s turnover intention mediated by employee well-being,” Ph.D. dissertation, President University, 2024.
[17] N. P. L. Santoso, R. Nurmala, and U. Rahardja, “Corporate leadership in the digital business era and its impact on economic development across global markets,” IAIC Transactions on Sustainable Digital Innovation (ITSDI), vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 188–195, 2025.
[18] I. K. Pramana Putra, “Job satisfaction in generation y employees at swiss-belresort pecatu.” Journal of Economics, Technology & Business/Jurnal Ekonomi Teknologi & Bisnis (JETBIS), vol. 3, no. 9, 2024.
[19] R. Singh, “Revamping employee experience for the next generation workforce,” in Approaching Employee Experience Management With Data Science. IGI Global Scientific Publishing, 2025, pp. 65–94.
[20] A. Kadim, I. Yusnita, A. Sutarman, R. Lesmana, and F. A. Ramahdan, “Assessing the impact of corporate governance and strategic leadership on economic growth and market stability,” IAIC Transactions on Sustainable Digital Innovation (ITSDI), vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 177–187, 2025.
[21] F. E. Putra, M. Khasanah, and M. R. Anwar, “Optimizing stock accuracy with ai and blockchain for better inventory management,” ADI Journal on Recent Innovation, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 190–200, 2025.
[22] M. Ramaditya, S. Effendi, and D. Fitriani, “Improving work readiness through talent management, knowledge management and learning organizations in private universities,” Jurnal Ekonomi Dan Bisnis, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 349–372, 2023.
[23] P. W. Purba and N. K. Darmasetiawan, “The influence of quality of work-life and staying intention through job satisfaction on milenial workers in the banking sector in surabaya,” Jurnal Ekonomi, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 1524–1531, 2023.
[24] K. N. Su, Z. K. Ko, N. W. Linn, Y. K. Ko, T. Lwin, and T. Oo, “Organizational justice on employee behavior at private service companies in myanmar,” Journal homepage: https://gjrpublication.com/gjrbm, vol. 4, no. 04, 2024.
[25] G. V. Carr, “Effective retention strategies retail sector leaders use to reduce voluntary employee turnover,” Ph.D. dissertation, Walden University, 2025.
[26] S. Purnama, C. S. Bangun, A. R. S. Panjaitan, and S. T. Sampoerna, “The effect of digitalization on culinary msmes on increasing sales turnover during covid 19 pandemic,” Aptisi Transactions on Technopreneurship (ATT), vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 58–67, 2022, https://doi.org/10.34306/att.v4i1.228.
[27] Q. Aini, P. Purwanti, R. N. Muti, E. Fletcher et al., “Developing sustainable technology through ethical ai governance models in business environments,” ADI Journal on Recent Innovation, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 145–156, 2025.
[28] J. Tanuwijaya, A. M. Batmomolin, J. Shadi, A. Ratnasari, A. Batmomolin, and W. F. S. W. A. Halim, “The effect of coaching leadership on employee well-being, knowledge sharing, and employee innovative behavior,” Calitatea, vol. 26, no. 205, pp. 235–244, 2025.
[29] D. E. Rose, J. Van Der Merwe, and J. Jones, “Digital marketing strategy in enhancing brand awareness and profitability of e-commerce companies,” APTISI Transactions on Management, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 160–166, 2024.
[30] A. Faturahman, N. S. Lubis, N. P. L. Santoso, A. Adiwijaya, M. Madisson et al., “Impact of blockchain enhanced digital marketing on brand awareness of solar panels,” Blockchain Frontier Technology, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1–12, 2025.
[31] C. L. Smith, “Unraveling the threads: A quantitative study on the impact of organizational commitment on turnover intentions among us employees at large american multinational companies,” Ph.D. dissertation, University of Arizona Global Campus, 2025.
[32] A. Rizky, R. W. Nugroho, W. Sejati, O. Sy et al., “Optimizing blockchain digital signature security in driving innovation and sustainable infrastructure,” Blockchain Frontier Technology, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 183–192, 2025.
[33] G. Silva, G. Godwin, and O. Jayanagara, “The impact of ai on personalized learning and educational analytics,” International Transactions on Education Technology (ITEE), vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 36–46, 2024.
[34] M. Fauziah, M. Anasrulloh, M. A. S. W. Hastuti, E. M. Putra, D. Chaniago et al., “Transformational leadership relationship, work environment, job satisfaction motivation, and hospital employee performance,” PaperASIA, vol. 41, no. 4b, pp. 482–493, 2025.
[35] Z. Zainol, G. Brotosaputro, S. C. Chen, and E. A. Natasya, “Designing ethical ai systems for sustainable technology development,” ADI Journal on Recent Innovation, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 201–211, 2025.
[36] M. Rakhmansyah, M. S. Hadi, S. R. P. Junaedi, F. A. Ramahdan, and S. N. W. Putra, “Integrating blockchain and ai in business operations to enhance transparency and efficiency within decentralized ecosystems,” ADI Journal on Recent Innovation, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 157–167, 2025.
[37] R. A. Sunarjo, T. Pujiati, D. Apriliasari, and M. Hardini, “Digital onboarding in agricultural platforms and its impact on agricultural productivity,” IAIC Transactions on Sustainable Digital Innovation (ITSDI), vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 205–214, 2025.
[38] G. Jim´enez-Mar´ın, R. E. Zambrano, A. Galiano-Coronil, and L. Tobar-Pes´antez, “Brand management from social marketing and happiness management binomial of in the age of industry 4.0,” J. Legal Ethical & Regul. Isses, vol. 24, p. 1, 2021.
[39] R. S. Putri, “The effect of transformational leadership and perceived interactional fairness on employees’ job satisfaction: The case of generation z in startup unicorns,” Ph.D. dissertation, Universitas Gadjah Mada, 2025.
[40] T. Owolabi and O. Adeosun, “Succession planning and talent retention: evidence from the manufacturing sector in nigeria,” British Journal of Management and Marketing Studies, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 17–32, 2021.
[41] M. Ramaditya, M. S. Maarif, J. Affandi, and A. Sukmawati, “Reinventing talent management: How to maximize performance in higher education,” in Frontiers in Education, vol. 7. Frontiers Media SA, 2022, p. 929697.
[42] B. H. Adi and F. P. Sary, “The effect of job satisfaction and organizational commitment on turnover intention of gen z employees in startup companies,” Enrichment: Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 422–436, 2025.
[43] D. A. G. Amruloh, R. Saleh, M. Ramadittya, and Z. B. A. Bakar, “Examining the role of lecturer servant leadership in fostering post-millennial student engagement and its impact on learning outcomes,” Jurnal Konseling dan Pendidikan, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 99–109, 2025.
[44] N. M. N. Febrianti and G. S. Darma, “Millennials’ intention to invest through securities crowd-funding platform,” Aptisi Transactions on Technopreneurship (ATT), vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 19–30, 2023, https://doi.org/10.34306/att.v5i1.280.
[45] Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK), “Supporting financial inclusion for msmes through fintech,” 2020, publication supported by Asian Development Bank (ADB). [Online]. Available: https://ojk.go.id/id/berita-dan-kegiatan/publikasi/Documents/Pages/Financial-Inclusion-for-MSMEs-through-Fintech/OJK%20Publication%20Supported%20by%20ADB%20-%20Supporting%20Financial%20Inclusion%20for%20MSMEs%20through%20Fintech.pdf
Authors
Copyright (c) 2026 Ami Pujiwati, Muhammad Ramaditya, Etty Susanty, Sekar Prasetyaningtyas
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This journal permits and encourages authors to post items submitted to the journal on personal websites while providing bibliographic details that credit its publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted to post their work online in institutional/disciplinary repositories or on their own websites. Pre-print versions posted online should include a citation and link to the final published version in Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication as soon as the issue is available; post-print versions (including the final publisher's PDF) should include a citation and link to the journal's website.