Cătălina RADU, Loredana Simona CARP and Alina Mihaela FRATICA DRAGOMIR
University: Bucharest University of Economic Studies
This study analyses how perceived social support contributes to the adaptation of employees after parental leave in Romania, a transition in which they must simultaneously manage professional reintegration and family responsibilities.
Although previous research has extensively addressed work-family conflict, less attention has been paid to the extent to which social support can be a stronger resource than work-family conflict, as a pressure factor, in explaining post-leave well-being and performance.
The data was collected through a Google Forms survey, conducted between October and December 2025, on a sample of 1,199 employees who returned to work after parental leave.
The study used a mixed-methods design, combining multiple regression analyses with thematic analysis of open-ended responses.
Multiple regression analyses indicated that work-family conflict was negatively associated with well-being, while perceived social support emerged as a strong positive predictor. Social support has demonstrated a substantially stronger association with well-being than work-family conflict. Social support was also positively associated with job performance, while work-family conflict did not significantly predict performance.
The qualitative insights highlighted the importance of supportive supervisors, collegial relationships and flexible working arrangements in facilitating the return-to-work process.
The results suggest that sustainable return-to-work processes depend not only on reducing work-family conflict, but above all on strengthening support-based organizational environments.