Work–Family Boundary Fit and Employee Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Work–Family Conflict

Abstract

This study explores how the consistency between work–family boundary preferences and boundary enactment affects employee well-being by applying polynomial regression and response surface analysis. Using two-wave data from 420 employees in consulting firms in China, recruited via snowball sampling, bootstrapping was conducted to examine whether reduced work–family conflict mediates this relationship. The results show that consistency between preferences and enactment is positively related to job satisfaction and depression–enthusiasm well-being but has no significant effect on anxiety–comfort well-being. Anxiety–comfort and depression–enthusiasm well-being are higher when both preferences and enactment are high compared to when both are low. Work–family conflict plays a mediating role in this relationship. This research adds to the boundary management literature by highlighting the importance of aligning work–family boundary preferences with enactment. The findings suggest that organizations can improve employee well-being by supporting boundary management practices that match individual preferences.