Relationship between work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion in health care workers: Mediating role of self-efficacy and stress perception

This study examines the mediating role of self-efficacy and stress perception in the relationship between work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion in healthcare workers. The study's primary purpose is to reveal the effect of work-family conflict on the emotional exhaustion levels of healthcare workers and to understand how individual factors such as self-efficacy and stress perception affect this process. The study's central question is, “Is there a significant relationship between work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion, and what role do self-efficacy and stress perception play in this relationship?” The study was designed as a cross-sectional design with a quantitative approach. The study sample consisted of 313 healthcare workers working in public and private hospitals in Turkey. The data were determined using the convenience sampling method. The data were analysed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine direct and indirect relationships between variables. According to the analysis results, a significant and positive relationship was found between work-family conflict and emotional burnout. It was determined that the perception of stress strengthened this relationship, while the perception of self-efficacy weakened it. While the work-family conflict was observed to cause less burnout in individuals with high self-efficacy levels, it was determined that emotional burnout levels increased even more in individuals with a high perception of stress. These findings emphasize the effect of individual factors on the professional and personal balance of healthcare professionals. This study confirms the adverse effects of work-family conflict on the emotional burnout levels of healthcare professionals. The research findings show that self-efficacy is a protective factor, while perception of stress is a risk factor. Increasing self-efficacy is critical in ensuring work-family balance and reducing the risk of emotional burnout in healthcare professionals. These results indicate that institutional strategies should be developed to reduce the emotional burnout levels of employees in the healthcare sector. Additionally, flexible working hours and family-friendly policies are recommended to reduce work-family conflict.