Work–Family and Family–Work Conflict in Public Social Work: Multidimensional Structure and Impact on Burnout

Work–family conflict (WFC) and family–work conflict (FWC) are psychosocial risk factors associated with burnout among social workers. This study examined these relationships among 425 social workers in public social assistance institutions in the North-West Region of Romania. Although WFC/FWC is associated with burnout, evidence regarding the multidimensional structure of the conflict (time-, strain-, and behavior-based dimensions) and the relative contribution of each direction of the conflict is limited, particularly in social work. A six-dimensional model based on Carlson et al.’s framework was validated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) subsequently tested the structural associations between WFC, FWC, and burnout. Time-based conflict emerged as the strongest indicator of WFC, while strain-based conflict was the strongest indicator of FWC (based on the ordering of the standardized loadings; the differences between loadings were significant at p < 0.05). The dimensions were analyzed as indicators of the latent factors WFC and FWC; the association with burnout was tested at the level of WFC and FWC, rather than at the level of each individual dimension; a specific influence of the behavioral dimension on burnout was not tested. Both WFC and FWC were significantly and positively associated with burnout; and the WFC–burnout association was statistically stronger than the FWC–burnout association, although the difference was small. These findings suggest that prevention efforts should consider both directions of conflict; the differentiated interventions implied by the dimensional profile remain hypothetical and require empirical testing.