Social support (family and supervisor), work–family conflict, and burnout: Sex differences

2012/06/28 by Angel Blanch, Àngel Blanch, Anton Aluja +1 · 151 citations
Business, Management and Accounting · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Biosocial theory #Burnout #Clinical psychology #Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior #Management #Mediation #Personality #Psychology #Social psychology #Social support #Sociology #Supervisor #Work (physics) #Work-Family Balance Challenges #Workaholism, burnout, and well-being #Work–family conflict

paper · doi:10.1177/0018726712440471

published in Human Relations 65(7), 811-833 (SAGE Publishing)

openalex publication_date 2012/06/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25

Abstract

We examined how work-family conflict (WFC) mediated the relationship between social support (supervisor and family) and burnout, and how sex moderated this relationship ( N = 343 Spanish workers). The results sustained hypotheses in accordance with a biosocial model of sex differences. There were full mediation effects of work interference with family (WIF) in the association of work support with burnout for men, and of family support with burnout for women. This suggests that sex moderated these mediation processes. The findings are discussed in terms of a shift in the differential assignment of family roles to men and women, despite the fact that women might be the main contributors to domestic work and related tasks.

Citations

• The Role of Social Support in the Process of Work Stress: A Meta-Analysis

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