Psychological Capital as a Moderator between Job Stress and Work-Life Balance: Evidence from Married Working Women
Abstract
This quantitative correlational study examined psychological capital as a moderator of the association between job stress and work-life balance among married working women in Pakistan. Grounded in Conservation of Resources Theory, Spillover Theory, and Role Conflict Theory, the research utilized a cross-sectional survey design with a purposive sample of 210 married women employed across public and private sectors in Lahore, Pakistan. Standardized instruments included the Job Stress Scale (Parker & DeCotiis, 1983), the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (Luthans et al., 2007), and the Work-Life Balance Scale (Fisher et al., 2009). Pearson product-moment correlations indicated that job stress exhibited a significant inverse relationship with psychological capital and with all subdimensions of work-life balance. Conversely, psychological capital demonstrated significant positive associations with work-life balance dimensions. Moderation analysis via Hayes’ PROCESS macro (Model 1) revealed a significant interaction effect (B = .021, p < .001), with the overall model accounting for 37.8% of the variance in work-life balance. Simple slopes analysis showed that women reporting high psychological capital sustained or improved work-life balance under elevated job stress, while those with low psychological capital displayed a marked deterioration in work-life balance at comparable stress levels. The findings empirically validate the buffering function of psychological capital within Pakistan’s sociocultural milieu, where married working women navigate compounded occupational and domestic role demands. Results advocate for targeted organizational strategies such as resilience-based training, structured mentorship programs, and institutionalization of family-supportive policies to cultivate psychological capital and foster sustainable work-life balance.
Keywords: Job Stress, Psychological Capital, Work-Life Balance, Married Working Women, Moderation
