Abstract:
The research drew on gender role ideology, conservation of resources and social identity theory
to explore the relationships between work–family conflict, emotional intelligence, leadermember
exchange, employee engagement and job performance. Data were collected using selfreport
questionnaires from 169 female nurses working in three major hospitals in Sri Lanka. The
study found that work–family conflict was negatively related to employee engagement and job
performance. However, the negative relationship between work–family conflict and job
performance turned out to be positive at a higher level of emotional intelligence. The study
further found that the negative relationship between work–family conflict and employee
engagement was weaker for those reporting a higher level of leader–member exchange. The
study contributes to the extant literature by unearthing theoretical relationships in the healthcare
sector. The implications of the study, limitations and directions for future research are also
discussed.
