A Moderated-Mediation Model of Work-Family Conflict in the COVID-19 Crisis: JMI

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic and societal mitigation efforts (e.g., mandated quarantine and social distancing) inflicted mental and emotional strain on working parents navigating conflicting demands between the work and non-work interface. This research examines how organizational leaders can help employees cope with the additional stress of the crisis and reduce detrimental outcomes to their careers, families, and organizations. Utilizing stressor-strain theory, this study investigates the relationship between stressors (i.e., work-family conflict and role overload) and strain (i.e., turnover intentions) as a function of a relationally-influenced psychological state (i.e., trust in management) in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. Data analyzed from 393 working adults indicated that trust in management moderated (attenuated) the relationship between role overload and turnover intentions, and the interaction between role overload and trust in management mediated the relationship between work-family conflict and turnover intentions. This moderated-mediation model empirically validates how organizational leaders can help mitigate employee stress induced during crisis situations.