Linking work–family conflict and burnout from the emotional resource perspective for construction professionals

Purpose: Following the conservation of resources theory and job demands–resources model, this study aims to explore the relationship between work interference with family (WIF) and emotional exhaustion and the boundary condition for construction professionals. Design/methodology/approach: This study collected 319 valid samples from Chinese construction projects and examined the established integrative moderated mediation model using regression analysis and bootstrapping. Findings: The results indicated that WIF was positively related to emotional exhaustion. The surface acting strategy mediated the relationship between WIF and emotional exhaustion. Emotional intelligence alleviated the indirect effect of WIF on emotional exhaustion via surface acting. Originality/value: These findings unveil the resource depletion process of work–family conflict in the construction project context, enrich the emotional intelligence literature to demonstrate the buffer function on the negative impact of emotional resource depletion and address the implications for the construction labour workforce.