How family-supportive supervisor affect Chinese construction workers’ work-family conflict and turnover intention: investigating the moderating role of work and family identity salience

Abstract

Work-family conflict and high turnover intention of construction workers have been and will continue to be significant concerns in the construction industry. To explore antecedents of work-family conflict and identify which workers are more likely to exit their organisations when they experience work-family conflict, this study examines how family-supportive supervisor (FSS) affects construction workers’ work-family conflict and turnover intention, and how identity salience moderates the relationship between work-family conflict and turnover intention. Data were collected from a sample of 271 construction workers. The results revealed that family-supportive supervisor reduced work-to-family conflict (WFC) and family-to-work conflict (FWC), which in turn predicted turnover intention. The results further suggested that construction workers with low work identity salience or high family identity salience were more likely to exit their organisation when they experienced WFC. Moreover, workers with high work identity salience reported a greater level of turnover intention when they experienced FWC. Findings will help managers in construction organisations deepen their understanding of work-family conflict.