Work-family conflict and mental health

What is it about?

The modern workforce faces competing demands from work and family responsibilities, leading to work-family conflict when job demands disrupt family life and/or family responsibilities hinder work performance. We found associations of work-to-family conflict with subsequent depressive symptoms, burnout, and general mental distress in studies that adjusted for sociodemographic, work-related factors, and baseline mental health. Similar associations were identified for family-to-work conflict with depressive symptoms and burnout.

Featured Image

Photo by Myles Bloomfield on Unsplash

Photo by Myles Bloomfield on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Work-family conflict is an important and modifiable contributor to workers’ mental health, which should be considered in workplace health promotion and policy. Given the high prevalence of work-family conflicts globally, addressing this issue requires changing social norms to promote more gender equality (e.g., in the household division of labour) and implementing social policies that support working families, including parental leave reforms, expanded access to high-quality care for children and older adults, flexible working arrangements, and clearer work-home boundaries.