Work-family and Family-work Conflict among Married Women in the IT Sector of India: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: The life of every working professional revolves around two significant poles: work and family, leaving the person with numerous responsibilities demanding both time and energy. The dual role expectations placed on working professionals, balancing work responsibilities and family obligations, often conflict and compete for time and attention. This obvious imbalance between work and family decreases employee productivity, performance at the workplace, job satisfaction and family satisfaction, including marital satisfaction; even providing child care seems like a herculean task. Aim: To compare Work-family Conflict (WFC) and Family-work Conflict (FWC) among married female Information Technology (IT) professionals in India, and to assess associated factors. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Delhi-NCR and nearby areas (Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Modinagar), India, between December 2024 and February 2025 using a validated questionnaire including Breyer’s WFC Scale. Married female IT professionals aged 21–50 years, married for more than 3 years, living with family, currently married, and attending regular office work (at least 4 days per week) were included in the study. A total of 264 forms were considered for data analysis. Data were entered in Microsoft Excel, and analysis was done using One-way Analysis of Variance (One-way ANOVA) and Pearson’s correlation test. A p-value<0.05 is considered to be statistically significant. Results: Overall work experience was inversely correlated with both WFC (r-value=-0.415) and FWC (r-value=-0.405), while working hours were not. Dual role demands (WFC: r-value=0.358, FWC: r-value=0.302) and number of children (WFC: r-value=0.130, FWC: r-value=0.295) were significant contributors, whereas working hours showed no significant relation with either WFC nor FWC. Conclusion: The findings of the study highlight the need for policy interventions to support work-life balance among female IT employees, as it largely remains a neglected area of women’s health.