Does work-family conflict mediate the effect of psychological resilience on tour guides’ happiness?

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore work interfering with family (WIF) and family interfering with work (FIW) as the mediators linking psychological resilience to happiness.

Design/methodology/approach

Data gathered from tour guides in Türkiye were used to test the aforesaid associations. In this paper, partial least squares structural equation modeling was performed to gauge the direct links and mediating impacts of WIF and FIW simultaneously in the link between psychological resilience and happiness.

Findings

Psychological resilience exerts a dual influence on WIF and FIW. Simply put, psychologically resilient tour guides balance their work demands with those of the family or vice versa and exhibit low levels of WIF and FIW. As hypothesized, WIF and FIW are the two mediating mechanisms relating psychological resilience to happiness.

Practical implications

It is important to create a family-supportive atmosphere where tour guides can avail themselves of family-friendly practices (i.e. family leave, flexible work schedules, breaks to be spent with family members after long tours and convenient working hours). Psychologically resilient tour guides, with the abovementioned practices, would experience alleviated conflicts between work and family roles and would therefore have heightened happiness.

Originality/value

Although the extant literature has presented plenty of empirical studies about the predictors and outcomes of WIF and FIW, evidence about the links of personal resources as third variables to WIF and FIW simultaneously is still scanty. In addition, there is no evidence linking personal resources such as psychological resilience to nonwork outcomes such as happiness through the mediating roles of WIF and FIW. This paper fills in these voids by gauging the links given above using data collected from tour guides, a population that has been subjected to limited inquiry in the WIF and FIW literature.

Citation

Dönmez, F.G., Gürlek, M. and Karatepe, O.M. (2024), "Does work-family conflict mediate the effect of psychological resilience on tour guides’ happiness?", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 36 No. 9, pp. 2932-2954. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-01-2023-0077