The Effect of Work-Family Conflict on Career Success of Functional Officials: The Moderating Role of Leader Support

Career success is critical for employee retention, yet work-family conflict (WFC) threatens its attainment. While prior research highlights WFC’s negative effects in healthcare and corporate sectors, its impact on civil servants—particularly in public audit institutions—remains underexplored. This study examines how WFC influences both objective (e.g., promotions) and subjective (e.g., satisfaction) career success among functional officers at Indonesia’s Financial Audit Agency, with leader support as a moderator. The study aims to (1) assess WFC’s impact on career success and (2) determine whether leader support mitigates this relationship. A quantitative survey of 400 functional officers was analyzed using SEM-PLS 4.0. Validated scales measured WFC, career success, and leader support. WFC significantly reduced both objective (β = -0.324, p < 0.001) and subjective career success (β = -0.270, p < 0.001). Leader support moderated only the latter (β = 0.165, p = 0.025), buffering WFC’s psychological impact but not tangible outcomes like promotions. Organizations should prioritize leader support initiatives (e.g., emotional backing, workload management) to enhance subjective career perceptions, while addressing systemic barriers (e.g., inflexible policies) hindering objective success. Future research should explore mediators (e.g., job satisfaction) and cross-sector comparisons to generalize findings.