Burnout and inter-role conflict in telework: a gendered resource erosion pathway via job crafting

Abstract

Introduction: While the impact of work–family conflict (WFC) and family–work conflict (FWC) on employee well-being is well documented, less is known about how burnout may, in turn, increase these conflicts through diminished self-regulatory capacity in a loss cycle. Through the lens of the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model and Conservation of Resources (COR) theory we propose that this association will be mediated by decreased job crafting. Gender differences in role expectations further can influence these dynamics, particularly in teleworking contexts where work and family boundaries blur. Therefore, the aim of our study is to investigate how job crafting mediates the relationship between burnout and inter-role conflicts (WFC/FWC) over time among teleworkers. Methods: A three-wave longitudinal design was conducted with 270 Chilean teleworkers (147 men, 123 women). Using cross-lagged panel models, we tested whether job crafting mediated the longitudinal association between burnout (T1) and inter-role conflicts (WFC/FWC) at T3, controlling prior levels of each variable. Subsequently, multi-group SEM analyses were performed to explore gender differences. Results: For male teleworkers, job crafting did not mediate the association between burnout and inter-role conflicts (WFC/FWC), however a direct association between burnout and WFC was observed over time. For female teleworkers, job crafting mediated the longitudinal association between burnout and FWC, but not the association between burnout and WFC. Moreover, no direct relationships were observed between burnout and either form of inter-role conflict over time. Conclusion: Job crafting may function as a self-regulatory buffer primarily for women, mitigating family-to-work interference under burnout. The findings suggest gendered, domain-specific resource erosion pathways and emphasize the need for targeted job crafting interventions to preserve resources and reduce work–family strain in remote work environments.