Can Work-Life Balance Replace Organizational Fit? A Resource Substitution Test Among Hybrid Working Employees in Greater Jakarta’s Service Sector

Abstract

Hybrid work has popularized a retention narrative in which work-life balance (WLB) is treated as the primary retention lever, while cultural and value alignment is treated as secondary. Drawing on person-organization fit (P-O Fit) theory and Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study re-examines the moderating role of WLB in the relationship between P-O Fit and turnover intention among hybrid working employees in Greater Jakarta’s service sector, asking whether WLB substitutes for, rather than amplifies, the retention value of P-O Fit. Using a quantitative cross-sectional design with 210 valid responses and Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA), the study finds that P-O Fit negatively predicts turnover intention (β = −0.437, p < 0.001) and WLB independently and negatively predicts turnover intention (β = −0.283, p < 0.01). The interaction term is positive and significant (β = 0.312, p < 0.01); simple-slope analysis shows an attenuation pattern consistent with resource substitution, with the protective effect of P-O Fit roughly twice as steep when WLB is low (b = −0.528) as when WLB is high (b = −0.250). The model explains 58.7% of variance in turnover intention. Given the cross-sectional, single-source design, these results are best interpreted as evidence consistent with a partial-substitution pattern rather than as a causal or sequencing test; common method bias could not be fully ruled out. WLB only partially substitutes for organizational fit, so service-sector employers in comparable hybrid settings may wish to consider flexibility and cultural-fit investment jointly rather than treating either as sufficient on its own.