Work-Family Conflict, Burnout, and Turnover Intention among Chinese Social Workers: The Moderating Role of Work Support

Abstract

While the work-family interference in employees’ work experiences and turnover intention has been empirically supported in the previous literature, it remains unexplored in the social work domain in the Chinese context. Based on Conservation of Resources Theory, the current study aims to examine the impact of work-family interference and four specific sources of work support on social workers’ perceived job burnout and turnover intention. Using a representative sub-sample (N = 1,414) in a national survey of Chinese social workers, multiple OLS regression analyses with simple slope checks on moderation effects were conducted. The results indicate that work-family interference has a significant and negative impact on both burnout and turnover intention, whereas work support from one’s top leader and manager moderated and reversed this impact. The study’s findings suggest that Conservation of Resources Theory is well suited to recognize the factors implicated in the burnout and turnover intention of social workers in China. Future research involving family factors will contribute to understand the full mechanism of work-family interference on social workers’ work outcomes. Further exploration of possible measures in mitigating burnout and turnover are suggested.