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Editorial verdict
Methodologically limited. The core WLB–stress correlation is credible and consistent with prior literature, but the failed mediation hypotheses, poor SEM fit indices, and small sample size mean the structural findings are preliminary and should not be treated as definitive evidence of causal pathways.
Executive summary
This study addresses the relationship between work–life balance (WLB) and occupational stress (OS) among South African engineers, a population operating under persistent skills shortages and high job demands. The authors argue that WLB directly and negatively influences OS, and hypothesise that this relationship is mediated by perceived organisational support (POS) and job demands (JD) in a parallel mediation model. Data were collected via online survey from 143 engineers registered with professional bodies recognised by the Engineering Council of South Africa, and analysed using Spearman's rank correlations and structural equation modelling (SEM). The study found a statistically significant negative correlation between WLB and OS, supporting the direct relationship hypothesis. However, neither POS nor JD emerged as significant mediators: the WLB–POS pathway was non-significant, and in the JD mediation models, at least one constituent path was non-significant in each specification. SEM fit indices were poor where reported (CFI = 0.710; RMSEA = 0.126 for the organisational-support mediation model), substantially limiting confidence in the structural findings. The authors conclude that WLB operates on stress through direct boundary-management and recovery mechanisms rather than through POS or JD as transmitting pathways, while acknowledging that model misspecification, sample size constraints, and cross-sectional design restrict causal inference.
Key insights
- 1A statistically significant negative correlation between WLB and OS was confirmed among South African engineers (rs = −0.568, p < 0.001 for work–leisure time interference), consistent with findings from other occupational contexts globally.
- 2Neither POS nor JD mediated the WLB–OS relationship in this sample; the hypothesised parallel mediation model was not supported, suggesting WLB operates on stress through a direct pathway in this population.
- 3Poor SEM model fit (CFI = 0.710; RMSEA = 0.126) indicates potential model misspecification, omitted variables, or measurement issues, meaning the mediation null findings are indicative rather than conclusive.
Practical takeaways
- The direct WLB–OS association suggests that organisational interventions targeting boundary management and recovery time — such as formalised after-hours communication norms and workload planning aligned with project cycles — are associated with reduced stress in engineering contexts.
- The non-significant mediation findings indicate that POS and JD may function as independent contributors to stress rather than as transmitting mechanisms, pointing to a more complex work design picture that warrants further investigation with larger, longitudinal samples.
Frameworks mentioned
Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Model
A framework integrating demand-side health-impairment processes and resource-side motivational processes to explain employee well-being outcomes, used here to justify JD as a mediating mechanism.
Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory
A theory proposing that individuals are motivated to acquire, retain, and protect resources; used to conceptualise WLB imbalance as resource depletion that increases stress.
Role Theory
An account of how incompatible or ambiguous role expectations generate tension underlying work–life conflict and occupational stress, applied to engineers' simultaneous technical, managerial, and compliance demands.
Organisational Support Theory
A theory proposing that POS fulfils employees' socio-emotional needs and creates a sense of obligation to reciprocate, used to justify POS as a buffering resource against stress.
Effort–Reward Imbalance Model
A stress model positing that high effort combined with low rewards increases strain, cited as a theoretical foundation for occupational stress in the literature review.
Social Exchange Theory
A theory explaining reciprocity dynamics between organisations and employees, used to justify POS as a mediator between WLB and OS.
Psychological Contract Theory
A theory positing that unfulfilled organisational promises undermine employee trust, linked to POS perceptions in the literature review.
References
- Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) (2021).The state of the engineering profession in South Africa: A focus on education, training, and the workplace.
- Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) (2014).Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs) skills plan: Skilling South Africans for SIPs and through SIPs.
- Rothmann & Malan (2006).Occupational stress of engineers in South Africa.
- Bowen et al. (2012).Workplace stress experienced by construction professionals in South Africa.
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- Bowen et al. (2014).Predictive modelling of workplace stress among construction professionals.
- Kurtessis et al. (2017).Perceived organizational support: A meta-analytic evaluation of organizational support theory.
- Eisenberger et al. (1986).Perceived organisational support.
- Fisher et al. (2009).Beyond work and family: A measure of work/nonwork interference and enhancement.
- Kawada & Otsuka (2011).Relationship between job stress, occupational position and job satisfaction using a brief job stress questionnaire (BJSQ).
- Weerarathna et al. (2022).The impact of work-life balance on employee performance: With special reference to the apparel industry in Sri Lanka.
- Anandh & Gunasekaran (2016).Constructing a model to examine the influence of quality of work-life on work-life balance – Discernment of civil engineers from the industry in Chennai.
- Rahim & Siti-Rohaida (2015).Career satisfaction and psychological well-being among professional engineers in Malaysia: The effect of career goal development.
- Teles et al. (2020).Occupational stress among engineers in the water and sanitation sector: An interdisciplinary approach.
- Lingard (2003).The effect of first aid training on Australian construction workers' occupational health and safety knowledge and motivation to avoid work-related injury or illness.
- Saleh & Desai (1986).Occupational stressors for engineers.
- Saguin (2019).Work-life balance and job stress among government social workers in the Philippines.
- Maphumulo & Bhengu (2019).Challenges of quality improvement in the healthcare of South Africa post-apartheid: A critical review.
- Haar et al. (2014).Outcomes of work–life balance on job satisfaction, life satisfaction and mental health: A study across seven cultures.
- Hobfoll (2001).The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory.
- Bakker & Demerouti (2007).The Job Demands–Resources model: State of the art.
Source & Provenance
sajip
Johannes N. Pretorius, Petrus A. Botha
August 31, 2026
Research Study
Africa
Original source metadata is preserved. AI analysis is generated separately.
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