Meaning at a cost: how work–family conflict shapes job satisfaction for women in sales

Sales roles are highly demanding, involving quotas, customer rejection, and irregular schedules. For women, these pressures intersect with caregiving responsibilities, shaping how they sustain job satisfaction. Guided by the Job Demands – Resources model, this study examines how meaningful work, work – family conflict, family – work conflict, and social support jointly influence satisfaction among female business-to-consumer sales professionals. Survey data reveal that meaningful work strongly predicts satisfaction, whereas work-to-family conflict diminishes it. Family-to-work conflict shows no direct effect, and post hoc analyses indicate that friend support unexpectedly weakens the benefits of meaningful work, thereby refining JD-R assumptions.