Work-family conflict and learning capacity: The mediating role of burnout and subjective well-being

Introduction

With the acceleration of information-based teaching, higher education teachers are always learning how to do their jobs better than before. At the same time, college teachers must contend with their everyday living, including family life. For college teachers, their learning capacity is a composite of motivational factors that support teachers’ continuous learning (Chen & Yang, 2010). Their subjective well-being would also influence as well as be a by product of their family and work lives, both of which demand continuous learning (Lin et al., 2024; Deakin Crick, 2007). Work-family conflict was found to significantly affect college teachers’ subjective well-being (Wang, 2022a), risking job burnout (Zábrodská et al., 2018). Subjective well-being is an individual’s overall assessment of his or her quality of life-based on self-defined criteria and is a subjective experience of the individual (Diener, 1984). Burnout has been identified as having a significant and adverse impact on teachers’ subjective well-being (Cenkseven-Onder & Sari, 2009). However, the role of work-family conflict and learning capacity is less well explored by the subjective well-being of college teachers at risk for job burnout; - hence this study.

Work-family conflict and learning capacity

Work-family role conflict would influence the learning capacity of college teachers. According to role theory, role stress occurs when college teachers have role conflicts in both work and family domains that cannot be adjusted, which in turn affects their subjective well-being (Ozduran et al., 2023).

In today’s higher education system, college teachers assume multiple roles and responsibilities as knowledge transmitters, research explorers, and student guides. However, with the deepening of educational reforms and rising social expectations, college teachers face unprecedented work pressures, which are often intertwined with family responsibilities, creating work-family conflicts. Work-family conflict can lead to time allocation pressure among college teachers, resulting in energy distraction, reduced job satisfaction, professional identity, and motivation to learn, which in turn affects learning capacity (Pu et al., 2017; Gao et al., 2013; Atteh et al., 2020).

Mediating role of burnout and subjective well-being

Work burnout is from chronic work-related stress and the excessive expenditure of emotional energy (Freudenberger, 1974; Zhao, 2023). Burnout among college teachers is manifested in physical fatigue, psychologically diminished enthusiasm for teaching, lack of accomplishment, and behavioral inactivity in lesson preparation and reading from the book (Watts & Robertson, 2011). College teachers in a state of burnout often lack the enthusiasm and motivation to learn new knowledge and skills, compromising their work role for adapting to the rapidly changing educational environment and student needs (Wei & Gu, 2023).

Subjective well-being is closely related to learning capacity (Ye et al., 2019). College teachers with a strong sense of subjective well-being are often full of enthusiasm for teaching and research work, which is transformed into internal learning motivation, prompting them to continuously explore new knowledge and improve themselves. Therefore, they are more willing to invest time and energy to learn new teaching concepts, teaching methods, and scientific research achievements to meet their pursuit of professional growth. At the same time, subjective well-being allows college teachers to maintain a positive mindset. When facing difficulties and challenges in learning, they are more inclined to adopt an optimistic attitude to find solutions and maintain continuous learning motivation. Teachers with a strong sense of subjective well-being would tend to have a stronger need for self-actualization, which they satisfy by learning to continuously improve their abilities and levels.

In summary, a significant correlation exists among work-family conflict, burnout, subjective well-being, and learning capacity among college teachers. However, no research has yet examined the interplay between these four variables specifically within this group of educators. Given that college teachers are the backbone of academia, there is need for studies on their learning capacity determinants to inform faculty development initiatives.

Goal of the Study

The present study investigated work-family conflict and learning capacity of college teachers mediation by job burnout and subjective well-being. The study addressed the following questions:

(i)   How does work-family conflict relate to the learning capacity of college teachers?

(ii)   What is the role of burnout and subjective well-being in the the relationship between work-family conflict and learning capacity among college teachers?

Method

Participants and setting

The study employed a convenience sample of 422 college teachers from four regions of China (female = 57.3%, mean years of service = 35.56, SD = 6.38). Regarding professional titles, 128 (30.3%) held the position of teaching assistants, 210 (49.8%) were lecturers, 64 (15.2%) were associate professors, and 20 (4.7%) were professors. In terms of educational attainment, 34 (8.1%) were undergraduates, 242 (57.3%) held master’s degrees, and 146 (34.6%) were PhDs.

Measures

Work-Family Conflict Questionnaire (WFCQ)

The Work-Family Conflict Questionnaire (WFCQ, Wu et al., 2009) is a 22-item measure of three dimensions of work family conflict: emotional, psychological resources, and behavioral styles. The items are scored on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from “rarely” to “always.” A higher score on the questionnaire signifies a more significant degree of work-family conflict. Notably, in this study, the WFCQ scores yielded a strong internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.94.

Burnout Scale (BS)

The Burnout Scale (BC, Li & Shi, 2003) comprises 15 items on three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy. This instrument employs a 7-point Likert scale, where responses range from 0 (“never”) to 6 (“very often”), with higher scores indicating a greater degree of burnout. In the context of this study, BC scores achieved a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.75.

Subjective Well-being Scale (SWBS)

The 9-item Subjective Well-Being Scale (SWBS, Yao et al., 1995) comprises dimensions: the General Sentiment Index and the Life Satisfaction Index, with nine items. This scale employs a 7-point Likert-type format, wherein respondents select their corresponding position on the scale by their actual circumstances. Elevated scores on this scale denote a heightened level of subjective well-being in the individual. In the context of this study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for scores from the SWBS was 0.96.

Teacher Learning Capacity Evaluation Scale (TLCES)

The TLCES (Shi, 2017) is a 25-item measure of four dimensions of work learning capacity: learning ability, learning practice, learning innovation, and learning motivation, comprising a total of 25 items. Utilizing a 5-point Likert scale, the ratings range from 1 to 5, representing “very poor” to “very good”, respectively. A higher score indicates a stronger learning capacity among teachers. In this research, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for TLCES scores was 0.97.

Procedure

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Education, Fuyang Normal University (Ethics number: jyxy-2023-12-11-1). Participants consented to the study with assurances that the data collected would be used exclusively for research purposes. The data was collected online.

Data analysis

SPSS 25.0 was employed to assess the data for the presence of common method bias. Subsequently, descriptive and correlation analyses were performed to examine the work-family conflict, burnout, subjective well-being, and learning capacity among college teachers. Then, the macro program PROCESS 3.0 was utilized to investigate the distinct mediating effects of burnout and subjective well-being in the relationship between work-family conflict and the learning capacity of college teachers, as well as the chain mediating role of subjective well-being, with burnout, in the aforementioned relationship.

The Harman single-factor test was employed to ascertain if common method bias impacted the study’s outcomes (Zhou & Long, 2004). The findings indicated that out of the 71 factors examined, 11 exhibited eigenvalues greater than 1, and the variance accounted for by the most significant factor was 31.96%, falling below the critical threshold of 40%. This suggests that the research data was not substantially affected by common method bias.

To investigate the mediating effects of burnout and subjective well-being on the correlation between work-family conflict and learning capacity of college teachers, this study employed the bias-corrected percentile Bootstrap technique with 5000 resamples. The analysis controlled for variables such as gender, professional title, and educational background. Work-family conflict was designated as the independent variable, learning capacity as the dependent variable, and burnout and subjective well-being as the mediating variables. The data were processed to assess the mediating influences using Model 6 of the PROCESS 3.0 macro program (Hayes, 2013), with a 95% confidence interval for the confidence levels.

Results

Descriptive statistics and correlational analysis

Table 1 shows the means, standard deviations, and correlation coefficients of work-family conflict, burnout, subjective well-being, and learning capacity. The results showed that all the variables had significant correlations with each other. Specifically, work-family conflict significantly and positively correlated with burnout (r = 0.45, p < 0.01), and significantly and negatively correlated with subjective well-being and learning capacity (r = −0.47, p < 0.01; r = −0.25, p < 0.01). Burnout significantly and negatively correlated with subjective well-being and learning capacity (r = −0.42, p < 0.01; r = −0.11, p < 0.05). Furthermore, subjective well-being significantly and positively correlated with learning capacity (r = 0.36, p < 0.01).

Work-family conflict and learning capacity

As shown in Table 1, work-family conflict significantly and negatively correlated with learning capacity (r = −0.25, p < 0.01). As shown in Figure 1, further regression analyses showed that work-family conflict significantly and negatively predicted learning capacity (β = −0.15, p < 0.01). This suggests that as work-family conflict increases among college teachers, there is a significant decline in learning capacity.

Figure 1. Diagram of the chain mediation model. Note. **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.

Mediation model test of burnout subjective well-being

The results are presented in Table 2 and Figure 1.

As shown in Figure 1, the chained mediation regression analysis revealed that work-family conflict had a significant positive effect on burnout (β = 0.61, p < 0.001), a significant negative impact on subjective well-being (β = −1.37, p < 0.001), and burnout, in turn, significantly and negatively predicted subjective well-being (β = −0.72, p < 0.001). When work-family conflict, burnout, and subjective well-being were simultaneously included in the regression equation, work-family conflict significantly and negatively predicted learning capacity (β = −0.15, p < 0.01), while subjective well-being significantly and positively predicted learning capacity (β = 0.09, p < 0.001). Burnout also positively predicted learning capacity, albeit not significantly.

As shown in Table 2, the mediation analysis results indicated that both the total and direct effects of work-family conflict on learning capacity were statistically significant. However, the mediating role of burnout was found to be insignificant. Conversely, subjective well-being demonstrated a significant mediating effect, implying that it partially mediates the relationship between work-family conflict and learning capacity. The Bootstrap 95% confidence intervals for the indirect effects of burnout and subjective well-being did not include zero, confirming that these factors do indeed partially mediate the link between work-family conflict and learning capacity. Furthermore, the direct effect accounted for 57.14% of the total effect.

Discussion

Higher work-family conflict by college teachers was associated with lower learning capacity. This finding may be explained by the fact that when college teachers with higher work-family conflict would struggle with the allocation of their time and energy to professional duties resulting in diminished resources for professional learning and growth (Wang, 2022b). Work-family role conflict can deplete psychological resources, resulting in decreased learning efficiency and motivation, which negatively impacts overall learning capacity (Song, 2022). Additionally, it contributes to mental exhaustion associated with both work and family responsibilities (Ilies et al., 2015). This exhaustion diminishes the energy available for engaging in deep learning and innovative thinking, thereby undermining learning capacity.

Surprisingly, burnout did not mediate the relationship between work-family conflict and learning capacity among college teachers. Perhaps college teachers are resilient in their work roles reducing the occurrence of burnout, and thus maintaining higher learning capacity (Bernuzzi et al., 2022). Moreover, college teachers may have rich social support networks, good self-regulation ability, and efficient time management skills and thus maintaining learning capacity and work motivation (Carlson et al., 2000). They may also have more work autonomy which would aid their work-life balance, potentially decreasing the incidence of burnout. With such support systems in place, teachers are more inclined to maintain their eagerness to learn and stay motivated (Yu, 2024).

College teachers with elevated subjective well-being would manage work-family conflict better and also maintain good learning capacity. This adaptability facilitates the identification of learning opportunities amidst conflict, such as through reflection and problem-solving to enhance personal competencies, thus augmenting learning capacity (Wang et al., 2019). Furthermore, college teachers with high subjective well-being may possess superior emotional regulation skills for work-family balance (Geisler et al., 2010), and less at risk for deterioration of learning capacity (Yao, 2019).

Burnout and subjective well-being had a chain mediation effect on the relationship between work-family conflict and learning capacity among college teachers. Research has indicated that work-family conflict is a significant predictor of burnout (Junça-Silva & Freire, 2022), and higher levels of subjective well-being tend to exhibit greater learning. Thus, higher burnout is less likely with subjective well-being, of which the later is protective of work-family balance and learning capacity among college teachers. Thus, work-family conflict not only directly affects teachers’ burnout but also indirectly reduces learning capacity by affecting subjective well-being.

Implications for Research and Practice

This study uncovered the intricate interplay between burnout and subjective well-being in college teachers’ work-family conflict and learning capacity. Conventional studies on work-family conflict have typically concentrated on the immediate repercussions of such conflicts, such as occupational stress and familial contentment (Rabenu et al., 2017). By incorporating burnout and subjective well-being into the analytical framework, this study broadens our understanding of learning capacity among college teachers. These findings are important for targeted preventive and intervention strategies. Assist college teachers in effectively managing the work-life balance, enhancing their overall well-being and academic capabilities, would enhance the professional growth of college teachers for the advancement of higher education.

Limitations and Future Recommendations

The study is subject to certain limitations. To begin with, the convenience sample does not allow generalization of findings. Secondly, the use of survey data only risks unknown social desirability bias. The absence of longitudinal tracking data precludes a precise determination of the causal relationships and dynamic shifts among variables. Lastly, while the chain mediation model was informative, other potentially significant factors or pathways are yet to be uncovered.

Future studies should utilize a probabilistic sample and a longitudinal research design to monitor changes in college teachers over time for more definitive results. Additionally, exploring other potential mediating or moderating variables would be informative.

Conclusions

The findings of this study indicate that work-family conflict of college teachers can influence learning capacity not only directly but also indirectly via the pathways of subjective well-being. Burnout seems to explain less of the work-family and learning capacity relationship, perhaps because college teachers are resilient learners. Nothethess, work supports to reduce work-family conflict, and to enhance their learning capacity of college teachers would be beneficial to their sense of work well-being. Such support could foster the professional growth of college teachers and contribute to the high-quality advancement of higher education.

Acknowledgement: We are very grateful to all college teachers who participated in this research.

Funding Statement: This research has been funded by School-Level Teaching Research Project of Fuyang Normal University (grant number: 2023JYXM0041).

Author Contributions: The authors confirm contribution to the paper as follows: study conception and design: Zhen-Hong Wang, Hai-Long Wu; data collection: Zhen-Hong Wang; analysis and interpretation of results: Zhen-Hong Wang, Hai-Long Wu; draft manuscript preparation: Zhen-Hong Wang, Hai-Long Wu. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Availability of Data and Materials: The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available and will be provided by the corresponding author if required.

Ethics Approval: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Education, Fuyang Normal University (Ethics number: jyxy-2023-12-11-1). Participants consented to the study with assurances that the data collected would be used exclusively for research purposes.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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