Family-to-Work Conflict and Innovative Work Behavior Among University Teachers: The Mediating Effect of Work Stress and the Moderating Effect of Gender

Family-to-work conflict is a common phenomenon among university teachers and can decrease their innovative work behavior. However, the mechanism underlying such conflict remains uncertain. To clarify the relationship between family-to-work conflict and innovative work behavior and explore the mechanism underlying this relationship, this study combines conservation of resources theory with gender role theory and employs the structural equation modeling (SEM) method. Questionnaires completed by 916 university teachers were analyzed with the assistance of SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 24.0. The findings reveal that family-to-work conflict negatively influences innovative work behavior and that challenge stress and hindrance stress significantly mediate the relationship between family-to-work conflict and innovative work behavior, albeit in opposite directions. Specifically, challenge stress exerts a positive mediating effect on the relationship between family-to-work conflict and innovative work behavior, whereas hindrance stress demonstrates a negative mediating effect in the association. Additionally, gender significantly moderates the relationships between family-to-work conflict and challenge stress and between family-to-work conflict and hindrance stress. These results shed light on the inherent mechanisms that govern the relationship between family-to-work conflict and innovative work behavior among university teachers and highlight the significance of two types of work stress, i.e., challenge stress and hindrance stress, as well as gender in this context. In addition, this research offers fresh insights that can support future investigations of how schools and governments can promote innovative work behavior among university teachers.