Societal Gender Inequality as Moderator of the Relationship Between Work–Life Fit and Subjective Well-Being: A Multilevel Analysis Across European Countries

This study investigates the relationship between perceived work–life fit and subjective well-being in a large and cross-national sample (N = 15,835) of male and female employees taken from the 2012 European Quality of Life Survey. Subjective well-being is conceptualized and operationalized through a multiple-item construct, measuring flourishing and mental health, experience of positive and negative affect, and cognitive evaluations of satisfaction with life and specific life domains. Adopting a multilevel framework, we also examine whether societal gender inequality, measured with the Gender Equality Index, moderates the relationship differently for men and women. The analyses provide robust empirical evidence that, after controlling for a broad set of confounding variables at the micro and macro levels, for both men and women: (1) perceived work–life fit is associated with greater subjective well-being; (2) higher levels of gender inequality at country level result in a weaker relationship between perceived work–life fit and subjective well-being. Based on the capability and agency framework, a plausible explanation for these findings is that when gender inequality is acute perceived work–life fit may not be a key determinant of subjective well-being; for both men and women the control over material resources may matter more for subjective well-being than the possibility of combining work with engagement in other life domains. Implications for both theory and practice are discussed.