The effect of work-family conflict on employee well-being among physicians: the mediating role of job satisfaction and work engagement

Abstract

Background Work-family conflict among physicians has many adverse consequences, like reduced work engagement and impaired well-being. However, relatively little research has been conducted on the impact of work-family conflict on specific pathways of physician well-being. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between work-family conflict and employee well-being among physicians and to explore the mediating role of job satisfaction and work engagement in this relationship. Methods Using data from a cross-sectional survey of 2,480 physicians in Jilin Province, China, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied in this study to examine the direct and indirect effects of work-family conflict on employee well-being and to assess the mediating roles of job satisfaction and work engagement therein. Results The employee well-being score of physicians in Jilin Province was 5.16 ± 1.20. The univariate analysis results indicated significant disparities in employee well-being scores across different age groups, marital statuses, and professional titles. Work-family conflict was significantly negatively associated with employee well-being, while job satisfaction and work engagement were significantly positively associated with employee well-being. In addition, job satisfaction and work engagement were found to mediate the association between work-family conflict and employee well-being, and work engagement was considered to mediate the association between job satisfaction and employee well-being. Conclusions Our study confirms that work-family conflict negatively affects physicians’ employee well-being. Moreover, our investigation revealed that the association between work-family conflict and employee well-being is influenced by both job satisfaction and work engagement and that work engagement plays a mediating role in the link between job satisfaction and employee well-being. Therefore, we propose that hospital administrators should rationally allocate organizational resources and develop manageable schedules to enhance physicians’ employee well-being. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40359-024-02026-8.