The Impact of Work-Family Conflict on Burnout in China’s Inland IT Hub
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Abstract
This study examines burnout among IT professionals in Sichuan, China, focusing on cultural friction between the “996” work regime and the local “Slow Life” ethos amid the inland shift of the tech industry. Using JD-R and Social Exchange Theory with PLS-SEM analysis of 380 respondents, the findings show that work–family conflict is a strong predictor of burnout, while physical work environment has no direct effect. Instead, perceived organizational support fully mediates this relationship, revealing a “resource mismatch paradox” in which material benefits fail without organizational care. The model explains 64.1% of burnout variance, highlighting the need to move from hardware-focused management to supportive, people-centered organizational practices.
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