Abstract Burnout remains a critical well-being risk for blue-collar employees, whose physically demanding work, rigid schedules, and limited boundary control often undermine their ability to achieve a sustainable fit between work and personal life. Drawing on person–environment fit theory and the ABC-X model, this study examines when and for whom work–life fit translates into burnout by testing a moderated moderation model in which resilience buffers this relationship and gender shapes the strength of that buffering effect. Using face-to-face survey data collected from 521 blue-collar employees working in manufacturing organizations, the proposed model was tested using structural equation modeling techniques. The findings reveal a robust negative association between work–life fit and burnout, indicating that better alignment between work demands and personal-life responsibilities is associated with lower burnout levels. Resilience emerges as a critical protective resource: employees with higher resilience experience lower burnout even under conditions of poor work–life fit. Moreover, the results demonstrate a significant three-way interaction, showing that the buffering role of resilience is stronger for female blue-collar employees than for their male counterparts. These findings extend person–environment fit and ABC-X perspectives by clarifying how work–life strain escalates into burnout under structurally constrained working conditions and by highlighting gender-contingent differences in the functioning of resilience as both a coping resource and a construct that shapes how such strain is cognitively appraised. Practically, the study underscores the importance of combining work redesign initiatives that enhance work–life fit with resilience-building and gender-sensitive interventions to mitigate burnout among blue-collar workforces.
GAMZE GÜNER KİBAROĞLU (Fri,) studied this question.