The impact of mentorship quality on mentors’ personal learning and work–family interface

Abstract

The present study represents the first efforts to empirically examine the impact of mentoring on mentors’ work–family interface. Drawing on work–family enrichment theory, this study investigates the impact of mentorship quality perceived by mentors on their personal learning (i.e. relational job learning and personal skill development) and work–family interface (i.e. work–family conflict and work–family enrichment). Results from a two‐phase field survey of 117 mentors in China indicate that mentorship quality is positively associated with relational job learning but not personal skill development. Relational job learning was found to be positively related to work–family enrichment and negatively related to work–family conflict; it also mediates the relationships of mentorship quality with work–family conflict and work–family enrichment. Meanwhile, personal skill development positively relates to work–family enrichment, but does not relate to work–family conflict. These findings provide evidence that mentoring is beneficial for mentors’ family lives, thereby encouraging senior employees to become mentors.