Work-Family Conflict and Work-Family Balance: Mediating Role of Psychological Capital and Moderating Role of Leisure Activity

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between work-family conflict and work-family balance, focusing on working mothers and fathers. There is a lack of studies that explore the psychological mechanisms or situational factors to deeply understand this relationship. Thus, we examine the mediating role of psychological capital and the moderating role of leisure activity. Based on the conservation of resources theory, we consider work-family conflict as a major threat to work-family balance and focus on the role of psychological capital as a psychological mechanism of resource depletion. We then suggest that leisure activity is an important situational factor in alleviating the depletion of psychological capital due to work-family conflict. The results showed that work-family conflict was negatively related to work-family balance. Psychological capital significantly mediated the negative relationship between work-family conflict and work-family balance. Furthermore, leisure activities significantly moderated the negative relationship between work-family conflict and psychological capital. Specifically, the negative relationship was alleviated in the group of organizational members who engaged more frequently in leisure activities. Our findings provide meaningful theoretical and practical insights into the field of work-family balance research.