Work-family conflict, work engagement and unsafe behavior among miners in China

The present study aims to explore the relationship between work-family conflict and unsafe behavior among underground coal miners, testing the mediating role of work engagement in this relationship. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Shanxi Province, China from June to August 2020. A total of 580 front-line miners were recruited for this study. Structural equation modeling was used to explore the mechanisms of work-family conflict on unsafe behavior. Findings revealed that time-based conflict, strain-based conflict and behavior-based conflict were positively related to unsafe behavior, and work engagement mediated the relationships between work-family conflict and unsafe behavior. Managers should alleviate miners' work-family conflict, providing effective organizational support to improve the miner's work engagement, and thus reduce their unsafe behavior.