The Moderating Role of Self-Sacrificing Disposition and Work Meaningfulness on the Relationship Between Work-Family Conflict and Emotional Exhaustion

Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this study tests whether the relationship between work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion in the public sector is contingent on self-sacrificing disposition and work meaningfulness. In particular, the study postulates that the positive association between work-family conflict and exhaustion will be weakened when public sector employees possess high levels of self-sacrificing disposition and experience high levels of work meaningfulness. Using a sample of 484 physicians working in 21 public hospitals in Egypt, the hypotheses were tested with hierarchal linear modelling. The findings demonstrated that work-family conflict was positively associated with emotional exhaustion when willingness to self-sacrifice and experienced meaningfulness were at low and average levels. However, when self-sacrificing disposition and experienced meaningfulness were high, work-family conflict was not associated with exhaustion.