Striking the perfect chord: investigating the work and family antecedents of work-family balance satisfaction among academic faculty

This study examined factors influencing work-family balance satisfaction (SWFB) among university faculty in Pakistan, focusing on both work-related and family-related aspects. Building on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, the research extended this framework by incorporating the family domain and introducing work-family conflict (WFC) and work-family enrichment (WFE) as mediators. A quantitative research design was employed, with an online survey distributed to approximately 5000 faculty members from 30 randomly selected public universities in Pakistan. A total of 532 responses were collected, and after screening for inconsistencies and missing data, 444 valid surveys were retained for analysis. SPSS version 26 was used to test descriptive analysis and common method bias and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SMART-PLS 4 (R) to test the measurement model and the hypotheses of this study. The findings revealed that demands and resources from both work and family domains significantly influenced WFC and WFE. Notably, seven out of the thirteen proposed mediation paths demonstrated significant and complete mediation effects, illustrating how conflict and enrichment mediate the relationship between various demands/resources and balance satisfaction. This study highlights the pivotal need to consider both work and family domain factors to develop a holistic understanding of work-family balance. Additionally, it emphasizes the critical role of conflict and enrichment in elucidating contextual factors-such as work and family demands-affect balance satisfaction. The findings have important implications for academic leaders and policymakers, urging them to integrate both work and family considerations into strategies aimed at enhancing the work-family balance.