Work-to-Family Conflict and its Associations With Workers’ Burnout, Poor Self-Rated Health, and Minor Mental Disorder

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the distribution of work-to-family conflict (W-FC) across socio-demographic groups and a wide spectrum of occupations, and its associations with workers’ burnout, self-rated health, and mental health status by sex. Methods: A cross-sectional household survey of representative employees was conducted in 2013. A standardized questionnaire was administered to collect information. Results: W-FC was high in employees aged 35 to 44 years old and in certain occupational groups. Long working hours, rotating work shift, high work demands, high job control, low workplace justice, and family care burden were risk factors for W-FC, and high W-FC score was significantly associated with burnout, poor self-rated health, and minor mental disorder. Conclusions: To improve workers’ health, it is essential to identify high risk groups and adopt measures to reduce conflicts between work and family life.

Effect of Work–Family Conflict, Psychological Job Demand, and Job Control on the Health Status of Nurses

“…Different types of literature show that WFC is an essential factor affecting workers' physical and mental health [5,7,11]. Kahn et al (1964) defined WFC as ''the conflict and pressure between roles caused by the incompatibility between work and family roles" [12].…”

“…High levels of WFCs can cause physical and mental stress and emotional exhaustion [14][15][16]. In terms of physical health, poor selfrated health (SRH) [8,11]; depression [17][18][19][20]; problem drinking behavior [15,18]; and physical symptoms such as fatigue, lack of appetite, and nervous tension are positively correlated [15,21,22]. Some investigators have found that a favorable workplace enables workers to balance their work and family roles, thereby reducing WFCs [8,14,[23][24][25].…”

“…However, studies also indicated that workplace characteristics such as low job control, high psychological work demands, night/rotating shifts, and low workplace justice are risk factors for the poor physical and mental health of workers [26][27][28]. Especially, with increased working hours, high pressure, and shift work, the nursing profession is associated with a high risk of WFCs [11,23,29]. In particular, compared with male nurses, female nurses face a high level of WFC [19].…”

“…In terms of work, WFCs can lead to poor quality of care provided by nursing staff [30] and increased turnover rates [30][31][32][33]. In 2013, Pien et al [11] surveyed 17,892 participants to investigate the impact of WFC on mental health. The researchers found that heavy workload, low workplace justice, and family care burden were associated with WFC and subsequently with poor mental health [11].…”

“…In 2013, Pien et al [11] surveyed 17,892 participants to investigate the impact of WFC on mental health. The researchers found that heavy workload, low workplace justice, and family care burden were associated with WFC and subsequently with poor mental health [11].…”