The effect of the work-family conflict, subjective socio-economic status, and physical activity on the perceived quality of life of working women in Iran: the mediating role of quality of work life.

Introduction: The conflict between work and family responsibilities has created many challenges for working women in Iran. This study aimed to examine the effect of work-family conflict (WFC), subjective socio-economic status (SSS), and physical activity (PA) and quality of working life (QWL) on the quality of life (QOL) of working women in Kermanshah, Iran.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 392 working women in Kermanshah, the most populous city in western Iran. The data gathering tool was a six-part questionnaire, including demographic checklist, PA scale, a question on SSS, WFC scale, QWL questionnaire, and QOL questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS and AMOS software.

Results: The majority of participants (69.4%) were inactive or had low levels of PA during their leisure times. The highest positive correlation was observed between QWL and QOL (r = 0.309, p-value < 0.001). The highest direct effect among the variables belonged to the SSS on QWL (β = 0.41, p-value = 0.001) and QOL (β = 0.20, p-value < 0.001). Furthermore, the analysis of indirect effects indicated that QWL played a mediating role between SSS and QOL (β = 0.092, p-value < 0.001).

Conclusion: The findings of this study revealed that variables such as SSS, PA, and QWL had significant direct effects on QOL. However, WFC had no significant effect on QOL. Moreover, QWL had a significant positive mediating role between SSS and QOL.