Parents’ work–family conflict and parent‒child relationship: The mediating role of parenting burnout and the moderating role of self-compassion

Abstract

In today’s fast-paced society, balancing work and family has become a key challenge affecting individual well-being, particularly for working parents. The conflict between these roles not only impacts personal mental health but also strains family dynamics, especially the parent‒child relationship. The main objective of this study is to explore the impact of work‒family conflict on the parent‒child relationship, with a focus on the mediating role of parenting burnout and the moderating role of self-compassion. The findings of a sample of 818 working parents revealed that work–family conflict negatively affects parent–child relationships and increases parenting burnout, thus further damaging these relationships. However, self-compassion significantly mitigates these negative effects, reducing the risk of parenting burnout. This study highlights the importance of fostering self-compassion as a potential intervention to protect the parent‒child relationship in the context of the work‒family relationship.