The Effect of Work Discipline and Work Motivation on Employee Performance: A Case Study at The Regional Secretariat of Southeast Sulawesi Province

Abstract

Employee performance is a crucial factor in achieving organizational goals, particularly in government agencies that are required to provide effective and high-quality public services. Performance is influenced not only by employees’ ability to perform their duties but also by work discipline and work motivation, where discipline ensures compliance with rules and responsibilities, while motivation drives employees to perform optimally. This study aims to analyze the effect of work discipline and work motivation on employee performance at the Southeast Sulawesi Provincial Secretariat using a quantitative approach with data collected from 210 respondents through questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) with SmartPLS 4, including evaluation of both the measurement model (outer model) and structural model (inner model). The results show that both work discipline and work motivation have a positive and significant effect on employee performance, with work motivation exerting a stronger influence. Descriptively, work discipline is categorized as very high (87.71%), work motivation as high (76.98%), and employee performance as good (82.38%), indicating that improvements in discipline and motivation contribute to better employee performance. The findings imply that organizations should continuously strengthen work discipline and motivation, maintain well-performing aspects, and improve weaker areas through proportional workload management, clear career development systems, and a conducive work environment, while reinforcing teamwork and leadership commitment to support sustainable performance improvement.