International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12

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 Volume 13, Issue 4 (April 2026), Pages: 164-173

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 Original Research Paper

Walking a double-edged sword: Examining the moderating role of family structure in the work–family conflict–turnover intention relationship

 Author(s): 

Uzma Javed *

 Affiliation(s):

Effat College of Business, Effat University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

 Full text

    Full Text - PDF

 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1271-6471

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

 
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2026.04.016

 Abstract

Based on Conservation of Resources Theory, this study examines whether family structure (married vs. divorced, separated, or widowed) moderates the indirect effects of Work–Family Conflict (WFC) and Family–Work Conflict (FWC) on intentions to leave (ITL), with employee attitudes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment) acting as mediators. Data were collected from 365 full-time women architects who have caregiving responsibilities for children, elderly individuals, and/or family members with disabilities. The data were analyzed using a moderated mediation approach in SPSS. The results indicate that both WFC and FWC have significant positive effects on ITL, and these effects are fully mediated by job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Furthermore, the indirect effects of WFC and FWC on ITL are significantly weaker among married women, suggesting that spousal support serves as an important resource that buffers the negative impact of conflict. In contrast, these indirect effects remain strong and significant for divorced, separated, or widowed women, identifying them as a higher-risk group for turnover. From a theoretical perspective, the findings extend COR theory by showing that the impact of resource loss depends on the availability of social resources. Future research should investigate whether formal institutional support, such as family-friendly policies, can provide similar benefits to employees without partners.

 © 2026 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

Work–family conflict, Family structure, Turnover intention, Job satisfaction, Organizational commitment

 Article history

Received 5 November 2025, Received in revised form 14 April 2026, Accepted 19 April 2026

 Acknowledgment

No Acknowledgment. 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Ethical considerations:

This research was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of human research. Participation was voluntary, and the respondents were told that they could withdraw at any time. The participants were guaranteed that the information would be kept confidential and were given informed consent. The study adopted a non-monetary compensation, closed-response questionnaire to ensure that participation was not influenced by any external factors or pressure. 

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

Javed U (2026). Walking a double-edged sword: Examining the moderating role of family structure in the work–family conflict–turnover intention relationship. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 13(4): 164-173

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 Figures

  Fig. 1 Fig. 2

 Tables

  Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5

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