An organization is categorized as a group of people who interact with each other and have a common goal. Organizations are formed to achieve a common goal that has been set. Organizations need resources to achieve their goals, one of which is human resources (Wenur et al., 2018). Human resources (HR) are individuals (employees) who are the main drivers of an organization because the success of an organization in achieving its goals effectively and efficiently can be seen from the performance of human resources in the organization (Yulistiana & Satrya, 2022). Human resources in the organization need to be managed properly in order to help the organization achieve its goals (Pramartha & Satrya, 2024). The rapid development of the era of globalization requires human resources in organizations, both managed by the government and the private sector, to be able to compete with other organizations. Organizations such as government agencies that are service-oriented to the community are required to provide the best service to the community (Juru & Wellem, 2022). Government agencies rely heavily on the role of human resources in providing the best service (Novita et al., 2022).

The Badung Regency Cultural Office is one of the regional apparatus located in the Badung Regency Government Center, which is located at Sempidi St., Mengwi District, Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia 80351. The Badung Regency Cultural Office has the task of assisting the Badung Regent in carrying out government affairs in the field of culture and the arts. Employees in carrying out their duties are required to provide fast and efficient services to the community. The demands on the work results that the organization gives to employees create a condition that oppresses employees. This kind of pressure causes stress for employees. Employee stress in the workplace is a serious problem for the organization and the employees themselves (Olivia & Frianto, 2020). There are two types of employees at the Badung Regency Cultural Office, namely ASN (State Civil Apparatus) employees and contract employees, where contract employees have a fairly high level of stress compared to ASN employees (Divara & Rahyuda, 2016).

Stress is a condition that refers to a sense of tension and emotions that affect an individual's physical and psychological condition (Ningrat & Mulyana, 2022). Conditions that tend to cause stress are referred to as stressors (Wardani, 2020). Stressors in the workplace can be physical or psychological which can cause work stress for employees. Work stress not only has an impact on individuals but also has an impact on the organization Work stress has a positive impact as a trigger for a person's enthusiasm at work. However, stress that cannot be managed properly can have a negative impact on the organization, such as causing employee productivity and performance to decrease even at an increasingly severe stage, stress can make employees have the intention to leave the organization (Dewi & Sriathi, 2019).

Based on the results of pre-research with interview methods with six contract employees of the Badung Regency Cultural Office consisting of 1 person in the secretariat, 1 person in the field of arts, 1 person in the field of cultural development, 1 person in the field of history, 1 person in the field of cultural

heritage, and 1 person in the field of museum yadnya, it was found that there were problems of work stress in contract employees of the Badung Regency Culture Office. Work stress problems in employees are characterized by employee discomfort in completing their work, such as employee behavior that is easily emotional, often experiencing headaches, and fatigue. This results in employees not focusing on their work and has an impact on employees not being able to complete the work optimally. The theory that underlies work stress in employees is the Job Demands-Control Model Theory. The Job Demands-Control Model theory developed by Karasek (1979) explains that work stress can occur because employees have high job demands in the form of a high workload, but control over work is very low (Annisa et al., 2024). Based on this theory, it is shown that work stress occurs due to a high workload. This statement is supported by research conducted Wirawan (2022) which also states that work stress that occurs in employees is caused by the excessive workload given to employees.

Workload is defined as a set of activities that must be completed by a person or a group of people in a certain period of time (Kusumawati & Dewi, 2021). Workloads can be classified into few and excessive workloads (Fitriantini et al., 2020). A low workload can cause burnout for employees due to a lack of attention to work. On the other hand, excessive workload causes work stress for employees (Priandari & Adnyani, 2023). This is consistent with studies by Fikri & Wahyudi (2024) and Rizkiyani & Kanto (2023), which found a strong and positive correlation between workload and work-related stress. This implies that employees will experience higher levels of work-related stress the more work they are assigned. On the other hand, study by Sari et al. (2022) indicates that work stress and workload have a negligible and negative association.

One of the factors that can reduce work stress is work life balance (Cahyathi & Riana, 2023). According to Urba & Soetjiningsih (2022) states that work stress will be low if employees are able to balance life at work and life outside of work. Work life balance is defined as an individual's ability to manage stability between work and personal life in order to remain dynamic at work and home (Wulansari, 2023). Because people who are able to balance their personal and professional commitments would feel less stressed at work, organizations should prioritize work-life balance (Puspitawati & Mujiati, 2023). This is in line with research by Piscesta et al. (2022) and Kalpna & Malhotra (2019), which discovered that work-life balance has a major and detrimental impact on stress related to the workplace. This suggests that the better a work-life balance is, the less stress that employee has at work, and vice versa. However, Hidayat et al. (2017) discovered that work-life balance had a small but positive effect on stress at work.

Based on this statement, the phenomenon of work stress that occurs at the Badung Regency Cultural Office can be categorized as a serious problem that must be addressed immediately. It is evident that more research is still required on the connection between workload, work stress, and work-life balance, as supported by the research gap in earlier studies. Thus, the purpose of this study

is to examine how work-life balance, as mediated by workload, affects work- related stress in contract workers at the Badung Regency Cultural Office.

This study employs a causal associative design and a quantitative methodology. Workplace stress (Y) is the dependent variable, work-life balance

(Z) is the mediating variable, and workload (X) is the independent variable in this study. This research was conducted at the Badung Regency Cultural Office located on Sempidi St., Mengwi District, Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia 80351. The sample used in this study was 82 contract employees at the Badung Regency Cultural Office which were determined using a saturated sample technique. The data collection method was carried out through interviews, observations, and surveys. The research instrument was measured using the Likert scale which was tested using validity tests and reliability tests. Descriptive statistical analysis and inferential statistical analysis, including the classical assumption test, path analysis test, Sobel test, and VAF test, were the methods of data analysis employed in this work.

Based on the data presented in Table 1, it shows that the characteristics of respondents in this study are dominated by respondents with an age range of 31- 35 years with a percentage of 45.1 percent. When viewed by gender, contract employees of the Badung Regency Cultural Office are dominated by male employees with a percentage of 63.4 percent, while female employees are only

36.6 percent. When viewed from the level of education of the respondents, employees of the Badung Regency Cultural Office with the last bachelor's education dominated with a percentage of 78.0 percent. According to their marital status, married employees make up the majority of respondents (78.0 percent). With a proportion of 70.7%, respondents who had worked for 6–10 years dominated the characteristics of respondents depending on their length of service.

With a correlation coefficient value of ≥ 0.30, all study variable instruments—work stress, workload, and work-life balance—have satisfied the validity test requirements, according to the data in Table 2. According to Table 3's reliability test findings, every instrument has a Cronbach's Alpha value of at least 0.6. This indicates that every instrument is trustworthy and appropriate for making predictions.

Based on the data presented in Table 4, it shows that the average respondent answer score from five statements regarding work stress is 3.69. This means that the work stress felt by contract employees of the Badung Regency Cultural Office is in the high category. With an average value of 3.80, falling into the high category, the statement "I feel that the amount of work to be completed is quite excessive than the time given in completing the work" is the indication of the variable work stress with the highest average value. This indicates that most responders believe that the quantity of work required is far greater than the time allotted to finish it. With an average value of 3.43, which falls into the strong category, the statement "I feel dissatisfied with the work given outside my field" is the indicator of work stress variables with the lowest average value. However,

when compared to other assertions, it has the lowest average value. This indicates that respondents are generally happy with the job done outside of their sector, but there are still some respondents who feel dissatisfied with the work provided outside their field.

The average response score of responders to the three statements about workload is 3.67, according to the data in Table 5. This indicates that the Badung Regency Cultural Office contract workers' workload falls into the high category. The statement "I find it difficult to complete tasks due to multiple tasks assigned in the same time period" displays the workload variable indicator with the highest average value, 3.74, falling into the high category. This indicates that because there are a lot of tasks assigned in a short amount of time, most respondents believe that they have trouble finishing them. With an average value of 3.58, which falls into the high category, the statement "I find it difficult to understand the assigned task" is the workload variable indication with the lowest average value when compared to other statements. This indicates that respondents generally believe they have no trouble grasping the task at hand.

The work-life balance experienced by contract employees of the Badung Regency Cultural Office falls into the sufficient category, according to the data in Table 6, which indicates that the average respondents' response score from four statements about work-life balance is 2.72. The statement "Personal problems do not interfere with my activities in doing work" has the highest average value of any indicator of work-life balance, with an average value of 2.74, falling into the adequate category. This indicates that respondents generally believe their personal issues do not get in the way of their ability to accomplish their jobs. With an average value of 2.70, which falls into the adequate category, the statement "My work does not take up my free time" is the indicator of the variable work- life balance with the lowest average value when compared to other statements.

This indicates that respondents generally believe their spare time is occupied by work.

Sub-Structurals 1 and 2 have Asymp values, according to the data from the normality test findings shown in Table 7. Sig. by 0.200 (2-tailed). There is a value above 0.05. This indicates that there is a normal distribution of data in this investigation.

According to the information in Table 8, the regression model is free of multicollinearity symptoms since none of the independent variables have a tolerance value of less than 0.1 or a VIF value more than 10.

Every model has a significance value higher than 0.05, according to the data in Table 9. It may be inferred that this research model is free of heteroscedasticity symptoms and is therefore appropriate for prediction since it

demonstrates that the independent variables employed in this study do not significantly affect the absolute residual (ABS_RES).

Z = -0.789X is the Sub-Structural equation 1 that may be developed using the path analysis data in Table 10. The workload variable has a coefficient of - 0.789, according to this equation. This indicates that work-life balance is negatively impacted by workload, meaning that as workload rises, work-life balance will fall.

Table 11's route analysis results allow for the formulation of Sub- Structural equation 2, which is Y = 0.477X – 0.496Z. The workload variable has a coefficient of 0.477, according to this equation. This figure demonstrates that workload reduces work-related stress. This implies that work-related stress will rise in tandem with an increase in workload. The coefficient value for the work-life balance variable is -0.496. This figure indicates that work- life balance has a detrimental impact on stress levels at work. This implies that job stress will go down when work-life balance rises.

Workload has a -0.789 direct impact on work-life balance. job-life balance had a -0.496 direct impact on job stress. Using work-life balance as a mediator, the indirect relationship between workload and job stress was 0.391. With work- life balance acting as a mediator, the overall workload's impact on work stress

was 0.868. The total determination coefficient value was calculated and came out to be 0.943. This indicates that workload and work-life balance had a direct or indirect impact on 94.3% of the work stress variables of contract employees at the Badung Regency Cultural Office. Other factors that were not part of the research model had an impact on the remaining 5.7%.

Numerous inferences can be made from the research's findings, including the fact that workload significantly and favorably affects work-related stress. Work-life balance is negatively and significantly impacted by workload. Stress at work is negatively and significantly impacted by work-life balance. The relationship between workload and work stress can be mediated by work-life balance.

Based on the results of this study, there are several recommendations can be considered for future policy decisions to reduce the high level of work stress experienced by contract employees. The Badung Regency Cultural Office is advised to evaluate the distribution of workload to ensure it is more balanced, create a comfortable work environment, and provide training on stress and time management to help employees manage pressure more effectively. In an effort to overcome work stress in terms of workload, it is important to regularly assess the use of working hours and ensure tasks are proportionate to the time allocated. Structured work planning and regular forums for employees to communicate challenges can also support stress reduction. In terms of work-life balance, the office is encouraged to adopt supportive policies such as flexible working hours, limits on overtime, and sufficient rest and leave. These measures can help reduce stress among contract employees.

Based on the results and limitations of this study, several recommendations can be made for further study. First, future research is recommended to expand the variables studied, for example by including other factors that can influence work stress, such as social support, superior leadership, physical work environment conditions, and organizational culture. This is important to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the determinants of work stress in contract employees.

Second, this study focused on contract employees at the Badung Regency Cultural Office; therefore, to increase the generalizability of the results, further

research should be conducted in other government agencies or the private sector with different work characteristics.

Third, this research approach is quantitative; therefore, for further in- depth analysis, qualitative or mixed methods research could be used to explore employees' subjective experiences related to workload, work life balance, and work stress in greater depth.

Finally, longitudinal research is also recommended to observe changes in workload, work life balance, and work stress levels over time, particularly in response to new organizational policies or changes in post-pandemic work patterns.