Sustainable Work–Life Balance, Social Support, and Workload: Exploring the Potential Dual Role of Flexible Work in a Moderated Mediation Model

Diego Bellini (), Barbara Barbieri, Marina Mondo, Silvia De Simone and Silvia Marocco
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Diego Bellini: Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09121 Sardinia, Italy
Barbara Barbieri: Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09121 Sardinia, Italy
Marina Mondo: Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, 09123 Sardinia, Italy
Silvia De Simone: Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, 09123 Sardinia, Italy
Silvia Marocco: Department of Psychology of Development and Socialization Processes, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 15, 1-19

Abstract: Flexible work arrangements have the potential to enhance work–life balance and contribute to more sustainable work environments. However, they may also increase fatigue and lead to greater work–life conflict (WLC). This study offers a novel contribution by examining the relationship between flexible work arrangements—focusing in particular on the cognitive demands of flexible work (CDFW), which encompass the task structuring, scheduling of working times, planning of working place, and coordination with others—and WLC. Specifically, the study investigates the mediating role of workload in this relationship. Furthermore, it also explores whether perceived organizational support (POS) moderates the indirect relationships between CDFW and WLC, within the framework of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. Data were collected from a sample of 419 employees in the Italian public sector. The study also controls for potential confounding variables, such as age, gender, duration of employment in public administration, and weekly working hours, to account for their influence on work–life balance and workload. The results highlight a significant positive relationship between planning of the working place and WLC. Additionally, workload plays a mediating role between CDFW subdimensions and WLC. However, POS does not moderate the mediated relationship between CDFW and WLC.

Keywords: work–life balance; work–life conflict; challenging demands; flexible work; organizational support (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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