Moral injury in the context of work-family conflict: The protective role of moral resilience for working-mothers

In 2022, a notable number of Italian women, compared to men, voluntarily left their jobs due to challenges in balancing work and caregiving roles. Conflicting responsibilities from work and family domains significantly impair mental health and well-being, resulting in increased stress and burnout. Work-family conflict could also lead people to face moral injury, that is severe distress resulting from acting inconsistently with one’s own moral beliefs, as individuals may grapple with decisions that seemingly compromise their values, such as prioritizing work over family. Despite its possible relevance, moral injury has never been studied in the context of work-family conflict. The present study aims at exploring the moderating effect of moral resilience, which is the ability to manage challenging situations while maintaining moral principles and values, in the relationship between work-family conflict and moral injury. We recruited a sample of working women with high caregiving responsibilities, who completed an anonymous online self-report questionnaire. Specifically, we collected data from working women with at least one child up to the age of five (N = 160) and from working women taking care of (in-law) parents and having at least one cohabiting child aged 14 years or older (N = 125). Analyses revealed a significant role of moral resilience in moderating the relationship between work-family conflict and moral injury in each sample. Specifically, at higher levels of moral resilience the association of work-family conflict with moral injury was reduced. These findings emphasize the crucial role of moral resilience in effectively managing moral injuries deriving from conflicting work and family responsibilities.