The Effect of Transformational Leadership and Digital Competence on Employee Work Engagement through Work Motivation at the Medan Center for Human Resources Training in Communication and Digital Development

Abstract

Employee work engagement at the Center for Human Resources Training in Communication and Digital Medan (BBLSDM Komdigi Medan) is not fully optimal, particularly in employees’ concentration, ability to sustain engagement, and effort in meeting job demands. This matters because the center’s mandate to deliver training and human-resource development in communication and digital technology requires employees to perform optimally. Grounded in Job Demands-Resources Theory, Transformational Leadership Theory, and Self-Determination Theory, this explanatory quantitative study used a saturated sampling technique, involving all 42 civil servants at BBLSDM Komdigi Medan as respondents. Data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) with SmartPLS. The results show that transformational leadership has the strongest positive and significant effect on employee work engagement, followed by work motivation and digital competence; transformational leadership also has the strongest positive and significant effect on work motivation, followed by digital competence. Work motivation further mediates the effects of both transformational leadership and digital competence on employee work engagement. These findings indicate that employee engagement in a government digital-training institution depends not only on leadership behavior and technological competence, but also on the motivational mechanisms that translate these resources into active engagement. The study contributes to public-sector engagement research and offers practical guidance for strengthening transformational leadership, digital competence development, and motivational management in government training institutions.