The role of social connectedness in employee mental health with self-esteem as mediator in the Jabodetabek area

Vollständiger Abstract

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The purpose of this study was to test whether social connectedness predicts the mental health of employees in the Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi (Jabodetabek) region while treating self-esteem as a variable that might mediate the link. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling, a non-probability approach, yielding 324 workers drawn from a range of job types. The measurement relied on three tools: the Mental Health Continuum–Short Form (MHC-SF) for overall mental health, the Social Connectedness Scale–Revised (SCS-R) for the degree of connectedness, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) for self-esteem. Analysis showed that connectedness was a significant predictor of mental health (p < .001) and likewise had a significant bearing on self-esteem (p < .001). Self-esteem, by contrast, had no association with mental health (p = .622); thus, it did not carry the relationship between connectedness and mental health. Taken together, the pattern is consistent with employees’ mental health being associated primarily with experiences of connection rather than with a self-esteem pathway. Because the design is cross-sectional and based on self-report, these results should be read as associations rather than causal effects. Building a stronger sense of belonging among staff, whether through supportive interactions, cooperative work settings, or a positive social atmosphere, therefore looks like a workable route to better mental well-being overall.