The Moderating Role of Perceived Organizational Support on the Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Work-Life Balance of Gen Z Employees

Work-Life Balance (WLB) has become an important issue for Gen Z employees who often struggle to balance work demands and personal life. Emotional Intelligence (EI) is considered capable of enhancing WLB, while Perceived Organizational Support (POS) is assumed to moderate this relationship. This study employed a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional design, involving 100 Gen Z employees at JNT Cargo Medan selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using an online questionnaire measuring EI, WLB, and POS, and analyzed using Partial Least Square - Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS software. The findings reveal that EI positively affects WLB; however, POS significantly moderates this relationship in a negative direction, meaning that the higher the perceived organizational support, the weaker the effect of EI on WLB. This suggests that in highly supportive organizational conditions, EI no longer serves as the primary factor in achieving WLB. The implication of this study is that organizations need to design human resource management strategies that not only provide structural support but also continuously foster employees’ emotional intelligence, thereby creating an optimal balance between individual and organizational factors in supporting WLB.