Coping with Job Resources for Female Employees’ Thriving at Work: A Mediated Moderation Model of Benevolent Sexism and Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Building on the work–home resources model, this study develops a mediated moderation model to examine how benevolent sexism within intimate relationships influences female employees’ thriving at work through job resources and self-efficacy. In this cross-sectional study, we surveyed 209 married female employees from six Chinese public hospitals and their spouses via online questionnaires between April and July 2023. To mitigate common method bias, we implemented a two-wave data collection approach with a one-month interval. We employed confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson’s correlation, and multiple regression to test the hypothesized relationships. The results support the proposed model, indicating that benevolent sexism within intimate relationships moderates the positive effect of job resources on thriving at work, such that this relationship weakens when benevolent sexism within intimate relationships is high. Furthermore, this moderating effect is mediated by self-efficacy, as benevolent sexism within intimate relationships undermines female employees’ self-efficacy, thereby limiting their ability to leverage job resources effectively. These findings highlight the need for human resource managers to consider the personal circumstances of female employees and implement targeted interventions to facilitate their optimal utilization of job resources, thereby enhancing their ability to thrive in both professional and domestic domains.