The interplay between work and family is pivotal for societal sustainability, significantly impacting fertility intentions and behavior among individuals of childbearing age. China's economic growth has created ample employment opportunities, yet necessitates a delicate balance between work and family responsibilities. Individuals strive for both professional fulfillment and family well-being. Decent work (DW), as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO), encompasses opportunities under conditions of freedom, fairness, safety, and human dignity, playing a crucial role in achieving work-family balance (WFB) and broader societal sustainability. While existing research focuses on DW's impact within the workplace, few studies explore its spillover effects on personal lives, particularly fertility intentions. This study addresses this gap by exploring two central research questions: (1) Does WFB improve individuals' fertility intentions (FI)?; and (2) How does DW affect individuals' FI? The study leverages the job demands-resources (JD-R) theory and life history theory to build a theoretical framework encompassing WFB, DW, FI, organizational support (OS), and family support (FS). This framework will be empirically tested using data from a questionnaire survey conducted in China, to provide insights for developing government policies on fertility support and informing human resource management practices.

The literature review examines existing research on WFB, DW, and FI. Regarding WFB, three perspectives are identified: conflict and facilitation, role engagement, and role expectation. These perspectives are not mutually exclusive but rather offer a progressive understanding of how individuals achieve work-family balance. The study adopts the conflict and facilitation perspective, defining WFB as the balance between family and work roles and the harmonious management of these roles. The review further highlights the significant impact of both organizational support (OS) and family support (FS) on WFB, but acknowledges conflicting viewpoints regarding their direct or indirect influence. The literature on DW reveals various definitions, focusing on safety, fairness, and self-value. The study employs a self-value perspective, defining DW as an individual's overall perception of job resources and demands. The review notes that previous research on DW predominantly concentrates on workplace impacts, lacking studies on spillover effects into personal lives. Finally, the literature review summarizes the research on fertility intentions (FI), which focuses on its antecedents such as individual factors, job factors, and social factors. The review identifies limitations in current research: insufficient exploration of the spillover effect of WFB on FI; insufficient exploration of DW's impact on family life; and a need for an integrated theoretical perspective incorporating psychological factors. The researchers address these limitations by proposing an integrated theoretical framework based on JD-R and life history theory.

This study employed a quantitative research design, utilizing a questionnaire survey to collect data from a sample of individuals in China of childbearing age. The snowball sampling method was employed. 600 questionnaires were collected, and after eliminating invalid responses (response time less than or equal to 2 minutes), 558 valid questionnaires were used in the analysis (93% valid response rate). The sample included a majority of females (62.7%). The age of participants was largely concentrated in the range of 18 to 40 years. The majority were unmarried (60.4%) and without children (62.7%). The data covered a variety of educational backgrounds and organizational types. Several established scales were adapted and used to measure the key variables. Work-family balance (WFB) was measured using Haar’s 3-item scale focusing on individual enjoyment, satisfaction, and management of life roles. Decent work (DW) was measured using the 13-item DWPS scale developed by Yan et al. (2023a), with four dimensions: job security, professional skills, respect and support, and self-worth. Organizational support (OS) was measured using scales from Yang et al. (2018) and Hao et al. (2016), combining dimensions of importance to work goals and concern for employee happiness. Family support (FS) was measured using a modified version of the scale developed by King et al. (1995), focusing on emotional support and tool assistance from family members. Fertility intention (FI) was measured using Ibrahim and Arulogun’s (2020) 11-item scale with five dimensions: fertility intention, parental expectation, social expectation, individual expectation, and behavioral expectation. Control variables included gender, age, education, marital status, number of children, organizational type, household income, and city level. Reliability analysis (Cronbach's alpha) confirmed the reliability of all scales (above 0.7). Validity analysis (KMO and Bartlett's test) supported the structural validity of the scales. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine common method bias (CMB) and determined that the CMB was not significant. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the main effects and hypotheses regarding direct and indirect relationships between the variables. Bootstrapping analysis was used to assess the mediating effect of DW, and three-step regression analysis tested the moderating effects of OS and FS. Statistical software SPSS 27.0 and SPSSAU were used for data analysis.

The structural equation modeling (SEM) results indicated that the model fit was satisfactory. The key findings are summarized as follows: 1. **Work-family balance (WFB) significantly and positively impacts decent work (DW):** The standardized path coefficient was 0.672 (p < 0.01), supporting Hypothesis 1. This means that a better work-family balance leads to individuals perceiving their work as more decent. 2. **Decent work (DW) significantly and positively influences fertility intention (FI):** The standardized path coefficient was 0.136 (p < 0.01), supporting Hypothesis 2. This implies that having a decent job increases the likelihood of intending to have children. 3. **Work-family balance (WFB) directly and positively affects fertility intention (FI):** The standardized path coefficient was 0.110 (p < 0.01), supporting Hypothesis 3. This indicates that a better work-family balance also independently influences the intention to have children. 4. **Decent work (DW) fully mediates the relationship between WFB and FI:** Bootstrapping analysis revealed that the indirect effect's confidence interval (CI) was between 0.107 and 0.242, not including 0. This supports Hypothesis 4. This signifies that WFB's effect on FI is largely channeled through the impact on DW. 5. **Organizational support (OS) and family support (FS) do not significantly moderate the relationship between WFB and DW:** Three-step regression analysis showed insignificant coefficients for the interaction terms of WFB*OS and WFB*FS (p > 0.05), negating Hypotheses 5 and 6. This suggests that while OS and FS are important in other contexts, they do not add to the WFB’s impact on DW once WFB is already established.

This study's findings provide substantial support for the proposed theoretical framework linking WFB, DW, and FI. The results demonstrate a clear pathway through which better work-family balance leads to increased fertility intentions, primarily via its impact on the perception of decent work. The mediating role of DW highlights the importance of considering both the home and work environment when addressing fertility-related issues. The lack of moderating effects from OS and FS suggests that achieving WFB might mitigate the need for additional support at work or home. This finding, however, requires further investigation to understand if this is the case in all circumstances. The findings contribute to existing work-family research by exploring the mediating role of DW and by examining the potential relationships between various forms of support and WFB. These insights are relevant for policymakers and organizations seeking to promote sustainable development and improve fertility rates.

This study makes several key contributions. It integrates JD-R and life history theories to provide a novel framework for understanding the relationship between WFB, DW, and FI. It highlights the crucial mediating role of DW in the link between WFB and FI. Its findings have significant implications for government policies promoting fertility and human resource management practices supporting work-family balance. Future research could expand the sample size, explore other cultural contexts, and utilize longitudinal studies to further refine the understanding of these relationships. Further research could also investigate other potential mediating factors.

This study has several limitations. The use of cross-sectional data limits the ability to establish causality. The sample, while large, was drawn from China only, limiting the generalizability of the findings to other cultural contexts. The use of self-reported questionnaires might introduce biases. Future studies could address these limitations by using longitudinal designs, expanding the sampling frame, and employing multiple data collection methods.