The association of empathy and the work–family conflict in doctors of dental medicine

Abstract

Objectives: Work–family conflict is a growing problem worldwide, because of changing work–family demographic trends and the spread of technology. Empathy, as the ability to understand and share the feelings of other people, is the essential component of emotional intelligence that plays a crucial role in healthcare settings. This study aimed to assess the level of emotional empathy and investigate its relationship with work–family role conflicts among dental medicine doctors.  Materials and methods: In this study participated 589 doctors of dental medicine from Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The questionnaire included general and demographic data, the Emotional Empathy Scale questionnaire and the Work and Family Role Conflict Assessment Scale questionnaire.  Results: The research results indicate no significant association between empathy and conflict between work and family roles (R = 0.032, p = 0.435). Women have achieved significantly higher scores in Emotional Empathy Scale (p ≤ 0.001), while there was no difference in Work and Family Role Conflict Assessment Scale according to gender (p = 0.194). A difference in emotional empathy was observed depending on where the respondents were employed (p = 0.045) and depending on the specialisation of the dental medicine (p = 0.021).  Conclusion: Female doctors of dental medicine demonstrated higher emotional empathy while the work–family role conflict is experienced equally by both genders.