The Psychology of Retention in Sports Understanding Work-Life Balance through the SOR Model

Abstract

The reason for this study is to use the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model to investigate how organizational support and coaching style affect work-life balance, psychological well-being and the effect they have on athlete retention. The data were analyzed using SEM. It consisted of 278 professional athletes in Jakarta and Medan. Therefore, the findings indicate that organizational support can significantly influence both work-life balance and psychological well-being, which are critical indices of retention. While coaching style positively affects psychological well-being, it has no direct impact on work-life balance. Therefore, holistic support strategies that go beyond performance-based programs are essential for sports organizations to address the mental health problems faced by athletes.