Work–Family Conflict and Depersonalization Among Frontline Social Workers: Does Person–Organization Value Congruence Buffer Both Directions?

Objective To test whether person–organization value congruence (POVC) moderates associations of work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW) with depersonalization among Chinese frontline social workers. Background Work–family conflict can strain functioning across interdependent roles. Whether a work‐domain resource buffers depersonalization associated with conflict originating in either domain remains unclear. Methods Cross‐sectional data came from 1223 frontline social workers (80.62% women; mean age = 28.88 years; 45.95% married) in 141 institutions across 56 Chinese cities in the 2019 China Social Work Longitudinal Study. Covariate‐adjusted linear regression models with institution‐clustered robust standard errors tested both interactions. Results WIF ( B = 0.263, SE = 0.028, p < 0.001) and FIW ( B = 0.151, SE = 0.028, p < 0.001) were positively associated with depersonalization. Higher POVC weakened the WIF association ( B = −0.034, SE = 0.013, p = 0.012), whereas the FIW × POVC interaction was nonsignificant ( B = 0.004, SE = 0.016, p = 0.812). Conclusion Perceived value congruence may help sustain professional engagement when work disrupts family life, but its predicted buffering of family‐originating interference was not supported. This direction‐specific pattern requires replication. Implications Social service organizations should evaluate value‐alignment efforts alongside concrete family‐responsive supports for caregiving and boundary management, tracking both worker and family outcomes.