Profiles of Working Parents: Interrelations Between Parental and Job Burnout in Portugal

Abstract

Burnout has traditionally been studied in occupational contexts, yet growing evidence shows that it can also emerge within family life. This study examines how parental and job burnout co-occur and interact among Portuguese working parents, seeking to identify distinct latent profiles based on their levels of exhaustion across both domains and to explore how these profiles differ regarding parental role restriction, parental task sharing, work-family conflict, and perceived parental support. Data were collected between July 2024 and April 2025 as part of the International Investigation of Parental Burnout Consortium, using validated Portuguese instruments, in a non-probabilistic sample of employed parents of children under 18. A person-oriented approach (cluster analysis) was employed to uncover latent configurations of parental and job burnout. Results revealed distinct and theoretically meaningful profiles that confirmed heterogeneity in how burnout manifests across roles. Parents with elevated burnout in both domains exhibited higher parental role restriction and work-family conflict, alongside lower perceived informal and formal support and reduced task sharing. Conversely, parents showing low burnout in both domains reported more balanced role distribution, greater perceived support, and lower conflict, representing the most adaptive profile. These findings underscore that parental and job burnout, while distinct, are dynamically interrelated through resource depletion and spillover mechanisms, aligning with the Conservation of Resources theory. The study contributes to a more integrated understanding of burnout across work and family domains, highlighting the importance of contextual and relational resources in mitigating exhaustion in working parents.