The Mediating Role of Locus of Control: The Effect of Work Discipline and Competence on Employee Performance

Abstract

Using employees' sense of agency as a moderator, this research will look at how job competency and discipline affect productivity. Although competence and work discipline are both critical components of employee performance, this study found no evidence that work discipline had a substantial impact on performance. Contrarily, competence has a favorable and substantial effect on productivity in the workplace. The association between work discipline and employee performance was found to be significantly moderated by locus of control, which describes individuals' ideas about control over their work outcomes. As the data shows, workers who place their sense of agency inside themselves are more likely to take the initiative to enforce rules and regulations in the workplace that will boost productivity. But since locus of control isn't a mediator in the connection between competence and performance, it follows that competence has sufficient influence on performance to warrant its own mediation. A quantitative descriptive methodology based on a path analysis technique is employed in this work. 150 employees from different departments were chosen at random to make up the sample. The results offer light on the need for management to place a greater emphasis on providing employees with appropriate training and education to build their capabilities and on fostering an environment where workers feel they have some say in the results of their job. In terms of enhancing employee performance, competence was the most important component. Work discipline was also crucial, but it needed psychological variables like locus of control to really make a difference.