According to the evidence, female administrators are forced to fill both domestic and administrative tasks in their families and places of employment. They occasionally face demands from these roles that are out of their control. As a result, they experience fatigue and conflict from these demands. Based on these reasons, we studied the effects of an exercise-based counselling intervention on work-family conflict and occupational dysfunctional thinking in a sample of female educational administrators in light of these circumstances.

A randomized control design was used, and a total of 86 school principals took part in the survey. Using scales to measure work-family conflict, participants were tested before and then tested twice (post-test and follow-up test) after completing an exercise-based counseling intervention. The intervention lasted for 14 weeks, with each session lasting one hour. Meanwhile, those in the comparison group were placed on a waitlist. The intervention aimed to enhance participants’ perceptions of work-family life. Univariate analysis, partial eta square analysis, and repeated measures analysis of variance were used to analyze the data that had been obtained.

The results showed that, among female administrators who had received the exercise-based counselling intervention, there had been a considerable improvement in a decrease in work-family conflict management. The results also suggest a statistically significant effect of time on work-family conflict among female administrators. The follow-up result reveals that the effectiveness of exercise-based counselling intervention was maintained over time in reducing work-family conflict.

The conclusion suggests that female administrators of schools exposed to exercise-based counselling intervention understand, perceive, and interpret conflicting work-family issues realistically, and that reduced work-family conflict.

The study was registered retrospectively on 29/09/2024 123,702 with UMIN Clinical Registry UMIN000055666.

Female work roles expectations at home and those in the official workplace frequently overlap. This observation could be due to the significant increase in recent female employment rates in Nigeria [1]. The need for distinct responsibilities within the family and work contexts often leads to role conflicts between husbands and wives [2]. As workforce rates rise, stress and conflict mediating family and work responsibilities are exacerbated by long workdays. Evidence shows that Nigerian female workers face high levels of family-to-work conflict [3], compared to their male counterparts [4]. Female workers juggle various tasks at work and home, such as lesson planning, instruction, exams, and caregiving, in addition to traditional African roles. Conflict between job and family is more common among women, leading some to leave the workforce due to stress [5, 6]. Women struggle to balance work and family responsibilities, facing greater work-related stress than men [5, 6].

In the southern regions of Nigeria, female workers are expected to prioritize domestic duties over work [2]. Female administrators, in particular, are required to juggle both domestic and administrative roles, which can affect their working hours [3, 7, 8]. Hence, understanding the impact that daily work hour have on work-family conflict is crucial. Additionally, marital status may also influence work-family conflict with married individuals generally experiencing less conflict compared to single female workers [9]. This is one the indicators showing possible way culture affect career women. Some career women may have peculiar way dealing with conflict between work duties and home duties to set a healthy work-life balance. The coping strategies may vary according to sociocultural setting. Women from different ethnic origins employ different coping mechanisms to balance their duties to their families and their careers [10]. Finding work-life balance is a difficult task for women, who choose to handle it on a personal level, inside their own families, and in their own manner without challenging the organizational structures that underpin work in the academic social milieu [10].

Both marital status and working hours can have an impact on mental health, potentially harming family well-being. Long workdays can lead to mental fatigue, affecting family responsibilities and causing frustration. Extended work hours can result in work-family conflict by causing exhaustion or limiting time for household chores [11]. It is essential to understand these dynamics in the Nigerian context in order to address their impact on individuals’ well-being [12].

Intervention-based studies on coping with work-family conflict are scarce [3, 13], especially for female administrators in Nigeria [3]. Research on the long-term effectiveness of these interventions and their application in organizational settings is lacking [14, 15]. There is a need for studies examining interventions targeting the psychological mechanisms underlying work-family conflict. Workplace interventions have been criticized for limited success [16, 17], highlighting the need for further research on effective interventions [18]. The present study aims to address these gaps and develop interventions to mitigate work-family conflict.

The literature on the work-family interface is complex, with underdeveloped theories. Work-family enrichment has been understudied, despite evolving demands and contexts [19]. New methodologies are needed to fill these gaps and understand coping mechanisms for work-family conflict [20]. The researchers propose an exercise-oriented approach to assist female administrators in Nigeria, combining physical activity and counseling to achieve a positive work-life balance. This approach could uncover impactful pathways to address work-family conflict effectively.

There is a relationship between sleep and mental health, as mental health conditions can impact the quality of sleep, and sleep deprivation can worsen mental health conditions [21]. This suggests that improving one aspect can positively affect the other. Research has shown a significant correlation between sleep patterns and mental health. In other words, inadequate sleep patterns can contribute to mental health symptoms. Additionally, exercise and sleep are closely related to each other [22]. Although these studies provide important insights into the relationship between sleep and health, research on the relationship between exercise, sleep quality, and mental health remains scarce in the Nigerian context. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap by exploring the effects of exercise-based counseling interventions on work-family conflict among female school administrative staff.

The majority of research on the relationship between exercise and the workplace indicates that employee physical activity is positively correlated with wellness [23]. For instance, a meta-analysis of workplace wellness programs conducted by Parks and Steelman [24] revealed that employees who took part in these programs had reduced absenteeism rates and were more likely to be satisfied with their jobs. Any voluntary physical activity done with the intention of promoting one’s well-being can be categorized as exercise [25]. By enhancing both physical and psychological well-being, exercise-based interventions—either alone or in conjunction with other strategies like education or psychological support—can be utilized to address work-family conflicts. It has been shown to have psychological advantages, including lowering anxiety, anger, and depression while also elevating mood [26]. In line with that, recent studies found that exercise decreased people’s perceptions of work-family conflict [25, 26]. More precisely, through its direct effects on higher self-efficacy and less psychological strain, exercise was found to indirectly lower perceptions of work-family conflict by Clayton and colleagues. Most people have yet to realize that exercise-based interventions can contribute to their psychological well-being. Thus, informing people about the role of exercise in managing psychological disturbances is important. It is important to seek measures and approaches to assist individuals with higher role demands caused by work-home conflict. According to earlier research, people can use exercise as a coping strategy to help them handle the pressures of juggling work and family obligations [3, 27].

However, similar to several studies on physical activity, there are prevailing limitations such as one-time, cross-sectional data collection and self-report measures of exercise. Scholars have proposed that group approaches may also have an impact on the individual [28, 29]. Even though some references have demonstrated the opposite opinion, insisting that individual intervention is more effective, studies do suggest that the group exercise format might offer participants additional benefits through greater social support, greater group cohesion, and camaraderie by sharing the same physical and psychological challenges [30]. The scholarly literature generally agrees that frequent exercise, whether done in a group or alone, is crucial to one’s well-being. Maher et al. [31] discovered, for instance, a favorable correlation between daily physical exercise and life satisfaction. According to earlier research, people can utilize group-oriented coping strategies to help them handle the pressures of juggling work and family obligations [3, 27]. In line with that, a recent study found that exercise decreased people’s perceptions of work-family conflict. More precisely, through its direct effects on higher self-efficacy and less psychological strain, exercise was found to indirectly lower perceptions of work-family conflict by Clayton and colleagues. Based on this, examining the role of exercise-based counselling intervention on work-family conflict. Allen and Armstrong [32] stated that those who exercise report less work-family conflict. Conversely, a past study suggests that work-family conflict leads individuals to forgo exercise in favor of other obligations. This controversy needs to be verified, especially in the Nigerian context.

Exercise-based counselling intervention is a psycho-physiological strategy that aims to use physical activities combined with counselling techniques to improve people’s perception of work-family life. In this context, exercises were integrated into the counselling sessions. This strategy was crafted by the researchers and the major assumptions include (1) engaging in juggling could lead to a reduction in accelerating excessive work-family demands stress because exercise activity increases stress relief. (2) counselling people to stay physically active would help them remain mentally and emotionally fit. (3) counselling them to exercise their body could reduce fatigue, improve concentration, and perhaps enhance cognitive function. (4) This strategy assumes that concentration and alertness in family responsibilities cannot conflict with job roles. (5) when people engage in physical activity when facing conflict, their focus is diverted and they can gain mastery, which increases energy. Exercise-based intervention, among other things, can improve psychological functioning in adults dealing with health and emotional issues. In this study, we tested the impact of exercise-based counselling intervention on work-family conflict among female administrators. Therefore, we investigated whether (1) female administrators will differ at baseline from the comparison group on work-family conflict experience. 2) The intervention group and a comparison group will produce statistically and clinically significant changes in the perception of work-family conflict at the follow-up stage, and the significant change will be maintained at the follow-up test. 3) This study hypothesized that working hours and marital status would significantly influence work-family conflict among female administrators.

This study is in line with the role theoretical framework [33]. According to the theory, individuals adjust their behavior to meet the expectations of new roles they take on [34]. This hypothesis suggests that people constantly transition between different social positions, impacting their identity and behavior. Duties, which often involve a mix of social, familial, and professional responsibilities, are the behaviors, obligations, and rights individuals are expected to display in specific social or organizational settings. These positions may either conflict or complement each other, influenced by societal expectations within the organization [35].

Given that work and family life are typically viewed as distinct roles with potentially conflicting demands, role theory is particularly relevant for understanding and analyzing work-family conflict. When pressures from one role interfere with another, it creates a “role conflict,” which is the central concept of work-family conflict. According to role theory, juggling multiple roles can lead to stressors like interrole conflict and job overload, which can then manifest as symptoms of strain [36]. Expectations that result in increased effort and potential feelings of overload in both work and non-work domains are known as work overload.

This study is a randomized controlled trial.

Participants were recruited in Enugu State through physical visitation and verbally agreed to take part in the study. Out of the 104 female administrators we informed about the study, only 86 administrators verbally agreed to participate. More sociodemographic information about the participants is presented in Table 1. These educational administrators underwent screening for eligibility, inclusion, and exclusion. The screening criteria included:

On the other hand, individuals with severe physical or mental health problems that affected participation in the exercise intervention, or who were receiving similar interventions, were excluded. The study did not include participants who did not meet the requirements. The number of participants was determined in advance (a priori) using the Gpower statistical technique, showing good representation with a power of 0.81. Figure 1 below demonstrated the input parameters that determined the sample size. This study adhered to CONSORT guidelines. The study was retrospectively registered on 29/09/2024 12:37:02 with UMIN Clinical Registry: UMIN000055666.

Gpower parameters that determined the sample size

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In the treatment group, 5 (11.6%) participants were single, 30 (69.8%) were married, and 8 (18.6%) were divorced. Additionally, 13 (30.2%) participants had Nigerian Certificates in Education, 21 (48.8%) had bachelor’s degrees, and 9 (20.9%) had master’s degrees. In terms of school, 7 (16.3%) were working in Public Primary Schools, 16 (37.2%) worked in Public Secondary Schools, 13 (30.2%) worked in Private Primary Schools, and 7 (16.3%) were serving in Private Secondary Schools. The hours each spent daily were considered according to the treatment group, with 9 (20.9%) administrators spending less than 4 h, 17 (39.5%) spending between 4 and 8 h, and 17 (39.5%) spending above 8 h.

In the control group, 9 (20.9%) participants were single, 23 (53.5%) were married, and 11 (25.6%) were divorced. Additionally, 11 (25.6%) participants had Nigerian Certificates in Education, 14 (32.6%) had bachelor’s degrees, and 18 (41.9%) had master’s degrees. In terms of school, 5 (11.6%) were working in Public Primary Schools, 15 (34.9%) worked in Public Secondary Schools, 17 (39.5%) worked in Private Primary Schools, and 6 (14.0%) were serving in Private Secondary Schools. The hours each spent daily were considered according to the treatment group, with 11 (25.6%) administrators spending less than 4 h, 13 (30.2%) spending between 4 and 8 h, and 19 (44.2%) spending above 8 h. After recruitment, eligible participants were randomly assigned to two groups: the intervention arm (43 participants) and the waitlist control arm (43 participants) using a simple random technique. The participants’ flowchart diagram in Fig. 2 illustrates the enrollment, allocation, follow-up, and analysis stages.

Participants’ flow diagram

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Participants in the intervention group were invited to gather at the venue, and familiarization was established at the first meeting to enhance openness among the participants. This included covering the aim and objectives of the intervention. In the second session, the coach and counselors met with the group to explain the framework that would guide the process. A timetable containing the framework was distributed. The meaning of work-family conflict was explained to the participants, and contributions were made by them. The third session covered the causes, signs, and symptoms of work-family conflict and their experiences as female administrators. While sharing their experiences, they were asked if they had used any strategies to cope with situations. This led to a fourth session where the counselor began counseling them on the need to increase the likelihood of engaging, initiating, and maintaining physical activity as part of weekly or daily activities. The benefits of physical activity were explained, especially how it could foster mental health. In the fifth meeting, the counselor and the coach jointly and practically explained the relationship between their perception of work-family conflict and exercise therapy. After the tips that lasted for an hour, the sixth session commenced immediately, which took place as an outdoor activity. This was in a group format where the participants were asked to practice everything the coach did on the pitch. At the seventh session, the exercise was turned into an individualized session, ensuring that each participant benefited from what she was supposed to. Each participant was exposed to warm-up, brisk walking, cycling, cross-training, and cool-down thrice weekly with 50 min per exercise. In the eighth session, there was facilitation for the disclosure of feelings about those stressors that introduce work-family conflict. The ninth session focused on clarifying issues on how to adjust with the responsibilities from the children, husbands, parents, and other care receivers. The tenth session was on how the counselor provided reassurance and professional support for them as required. The eleventh to twelfth sessions addressed how to use mood-monitoring, relaxation, and problem-solving techniques to cope with family pressures interfering with official assignments. The thirteenth session focused on how to reduce physiological reactions and mental fatigue arising from home-work pressures. This has both individual and group counseling dimensions. A home practice assignment was given to the participants to develop self-help skills. The fourteenth session was capped off with a group-oriented physical exercise. This was followed by the group counseling of the participants then terminated the sessions. The session was also known as the termination stage. The follow-up test took place after two months of active intervention ended. There were no follow-up sessions; only the third test (Time 3) was conducted.

Work-Family Conflict Questionnaire (W-FCQ), developed by Carlson et al. [37] is a self-report that measures work-family conflict. This self-report survey was used to determine the extent to which participants’ dysfunctional ideas or behaviors were being influenced by work-family conflict. W-FCQ has six dimensions of work-family conflict (time-based WIF, time-based FIW, strain-based WIF, strain-based FIW, behavior-based WIF, and behavior-based FIW). It consists of three items in each of the six work-family conflict dimensions. Internal consistency was assessed using the coefficient alpha for each of the six dimensions. Time-based family interference with work is 0.79, time-based work interference with families is 0.87, strain-based family interference with work is 0.85, behavior-based family interference with work is 0.78, and both are 0.85 [37]. The validity of W-FCQ was confirmed in past studies [3, 38]. In this context, the overall internal consistency was 0.82.

This This intervention is an exercise cum counseling approach that has four components such as intervention type, intervention times per week, the number of weeks, and the hours per session. For the intervention type, counseling was incorporated into each physical activity throughout sessions. The intervention in this study included aerobic exercises (such as brisk walking, cycling, and cross-training) three times a week, combined with cognitive-behavioral therapy counseling. Each exercise session lasted 50 min, and the counseling focused on cognitive restructuring, problem-solving, and emotional management. Previous research has shown a U-shaped relationship between sleep duration and phenotypic age [39], suggesting that the potential impact of exercise on sleep quality should be considered when designing interventions. In each session, pre-counseling was given prior to the exercise the participants engaged in. After each exercise, a post-counseling session would be held to cushion possible effects of injuries that happened to them. This section was a group format. The intervention revolves around and is tied up in 14 weeks. Each session lasted an hour, and the group counseling intervention had ten female administrators per group. Both individual and group exercises consisted of warm-up, cool-down, and cardiovascular training. In developing this intervention, a study by Wang et al. [40] was very useful.

By the time individuals in the treatment group began their therapy, the participants in the control group had not yet begun theirs. Instead, after the trial was over, they were subjected to the same intervention. In other words, they received three points (Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3). Hence, they underwent the same treatment process as those in the intervention group. Therefore, their responses at Time 2 and Time 3 were not influenced by the treatment delivered after the time of assessment.

The researchers also created the methodology for evaluating each session used throughout the trial, and participants in the experimental group were asked to get their feedback on the sessions. The objectives were to know how you would describe your general view of the session, how you feel about the session process, and others.

Data collected from the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up test were statistically analyzed using repeated measures of Analysis of Variance statistical method. The effect size of the intervention on the reduction of work-family conflict, and administrative burnout was reported using partial eta square. The sphericity assumption was taken into cognizance showing it was violated based on Mauchly’s tests [x²(2) = 17.722, p < 0.001, ε = 0.747] as measured by W-FCQ. Therefore, we employed the Greenhouse-Geisser was used to interpret the two levels of W-FCQ, for being greater than 0.75. The follow-up data was tested using a Univariate analysis.

The demographic information demonstrated that there is no significant difference in the socio-demographic characteristics of participants in terms of educational qualifications (χ² = 1,85, p = 0.102), schools (χ² = 0.976, p = 0.807), marital status (χ² = 2.541, p = 0.281), and working hours per day (χ² = 0.844, p = 0.656) in the treatment group and waitlisted control group.

Results in Table 2 show a significant reduction in work-family conflict of female administrators exposed to exercise-based counseling intervention, F (1,68) = 118.091, p < .01, d = 3.50, η²_p = 0.64. The results also suggest a statistically significant effect of time on work-family conflict among female administrators as measured by WFC, F (1.597, 108.570) = 81.488, p < .01, η²_p = 0.545. This indicates that participants' responses to work-family at different times of measurement are significantly different. The results also indicate that work-family conflict among female administrators’ scores were not influenced significantly by group and time interaction effect, F (1.597, 2946.931) = 40.585, p < .01, η²_p = 0.374. The follow-up result reveals that the effectiveness of exercise-based counselling intervention was maintained overtime, F (1,85) = 293.199, p < .01, d = 3.79, η²_p = 0.777.

The results in Table 3 indicate that work-family conflict among female administrators’ scores was not influenced significantly by group and Working Hour Per Day interaction effect, F(1,85) = 2.701, p = .074, η²_p = 0.074. A statistically significant effect of Groups and Marital Status interaction effect was found with regard to work-family conflict, F (1,85) = 2.333, p = .105, η²_p = 0.064.

In terms of the influence of Marital Status and Working Hour Per Day, the results show no significant influence of Marital Status and Working Hour Per Day on the work-family conflict among female administrators, F (1,85) = .101, p = .904, η²_p = 0.003 and F (1,85) = .772, p = .466, η²_p = 0.022 respectively.

Sidak’s post hoc analysis in Table 4 for the effect of Group according to Time shows that at Time 1, there was a significant difference from Time 2 (Mean difference = 7.963, standard error = .803, p = 0.01, 5.998, 9.927). The same difference was shown from Time 2 to Time 1 (Mean difference = -7.963, standard error = .803, p = 0.01, -9.927, -5.998). Additionally, at Time 3, the participants' scores were still significantly lower compared to their scores at Time 1 (Mean difference = -11.990, standard error = 1.171, p = 0.01, -14.856, -9.124).

Given the high level of family-to-work conflict or work-to-family conflict among female educational administrators, seeking a regulatory and control measure is imperative. Therefore, this study was conceived to determine the effect of an exercise-based counseling intervention on reducing this conflict. The finding showed a significant reduction in work-family conflict among female administrators exposed to exercise-based counselling intervention compared to the comparison group. There was a statistically significant effect of time on work-family conflict. The results also indicate that work-family conflict among female administrators’ scores was not influenced significantly by group and time interaction effect. The follow-up result reveals that the effectiveness of the exercise-based counselling intervention was maintained overtime.

The outcomes of the main effect align with a study conducted in southern Germany [41]. The study revealed that participants in the intervention were satisfied as it helped them manage work-family conflicts effectively [41]. Despite the involvement of two different locations - developed and developing nations - the results remain similar. Participants in both countries do not share the same cultural orientation regarding family and work values, but the efficacy of the intervention remains significant. Notably, they both experience a dual-career household syndrome, leading to an increase in employees balancing work and family responsibilities simultaneously. This results in work-related demands interfering with family time or job-related demands interfering with family time. Similarly, past evidence has shown that the intervention is highly successful in reducing work-family conflict and work-related misbehavior among female employees [38, 42]. This success is not surprising, as participants realize they are not alone in their daily struggles to balance job and family obligations. By seeing other participants facing similar conflicts at home and in the workplace, their thoughts and attitudes change, largely due to the intervention. At this point, it becomes necessary to utilize counseling techniques such as cognitive restructuring, problem-solving, questioning, and behavioral responses to help participants cope with demanding tasks.

The findings of this study and those from the literature suggest that regular physical activity (PA) is positively correlated with health-related outcomes [40]. Relating this to the present findings, exercise plays an important role in human mental health. When combined with cognitive behavioral techniques, a counseling approach, cases of ill-health can decrease. Psychotherapy improves mental health, while physical activity enhances physical health. Therefore, combining physical activity with counseling could promote overall well-being. This makes female administrators more adaptive and functional in the workplace. When in a relaxed mood, individuals become more active and can strategize on how to achieve organizational goals optimally. This finding adds to the existing mind-body literature, such as yoga therapy and walk-and-talk therapy, by showing that empirical knowledge from Sub-Saharan Africa supports the benefits of combining physical activity with counseling in the field. Additionally, counseling—whether individual or group—and PA are useful interventions for enhancing health-related outcomes for working women in Shanghai [40]. Therefore, to help these female administrators improve and regulate their work-family obligations, a program that enhances their quality of work-family-life in terms of health should be created, encouraging regular exercise and supporting counseling sessions.

According to Ifelunni et al. [3]. cognitive therapy altered participants’ emotions, behaviors, and beliefs, significantly improving their capacity to manage the psychological, behavioral, and emotional issues associated with work-family conflict. Despite experiencing stress due to work-family conflicts, participants’ maladaptive behaviors and thinking gradually improved [3]. The findings demonstrated that the exercise-based counseling intervention had a significant impact on construction employees’ management of work-family conflict scores, and its effectiveness was sustained according to a follow-up finding [3]. In the same way, another past study found that the positive effects of the intervention on reducing work-family conflict and work-deviant behaviors were further enhanced during the follow-up phase [38]. The results also indicated a statistically significant time effect on managing work-family conflict and occupational stress in administrators [7]. Group and temporal interaction effects had a substantial impact on administrators’ coping mechanisms for work-family conflict and occupational stress [7]. Time, group, and gender interaction effects also had a substantial impact on work-family conflict scores of administrators, suggesting that individuals in the experimental group experienced less occupational stress than those in the control group [7]. However, the results indicate that the workers’ scores for work-family conflict and work deviant behavior were not significantly affected by gender and time interaction effects.

This main effect result corresponds with research showing that team health climate, as a contextual resource, facilitated health-related outcomes for workers [43]. Strong social and psychological support improves a nurse’s ability to manage both work-related and personal stress [44]. Administering therapy for work-related psychological conflict reduces negative health outcomes. The findings suggest that establishing resilience within the workforce is influenced by employees’ impressions of how much their team cares, communicates, and is concerned [41]. Cognitive-behavioral therapies and physical and mental relaxation have been beneficial for reducing occupational stress in employees [45, 46]. Employees believe that the conflict between work and life seriously damages the workplace and family, threatening an individual’s mental and physical health [47]. However, cognitive-oriented intervention could lessen cognitive errors associated with it [48,49,50,51]. High stress can lead to depression [52,53,54,55,56,57], and anxiety [58,59,60,61], and weaken the immune system, causing immorality, absence, and reduced productivity in the workplace. Work-family conflict is associated with high-stress tolerance, dysthymia, distress, and weak physical health, resulting in reduced job satisfaction and organizational engagement, frequent doctor visits, and increased absence at work [47]. Another exercise-based study found that the combined exercise and psychological counseling intervention resulted in a statistically significant difference in the groups’ global quality of life changes over time [30], with a moderate effect size. Our findings indicate that the combination of exercise and counseling significantly reduces work-family conflict. This effect may be achieved through multiple mechanisms, including the positive impact of exercise on mental health and the role of counseling in cognitive restructuring. Previous research has found that leisure-time physical activity mediates the relationship between dietary intake of live microbes and the systemic immune-inflammation index [62], suggesting that exercise may improve mental health by regulating inflammatory responses, thereby indirectly reducing work-family conflict.

The results of this study align with previous research, indicating a significant link between accelerometer-measured physical activity and inflammation markers associated with protein levels [63, 64]. This suggests that exercise could enhance mental health by regulating inflammatory responses, potentially reducing work-family conflict. However, unlike prior studies, this intervention combines exercise and counseling, offering unique potential in the Nigerian context.

This study found that no significant relationship between daily work hours and the marital status of female administrators in relation to work-family conflict. This finding agrees with a past study that women who worked long hours per week were far more likely to get divorced or separated than men [65, 66]. A past study also showed that single parents experience higher levels of conflict due to their increased responsibilities compared to married individuals [67]. This is because single parents often experience multiple roles without spousal support, leading to greater conflict [68].

The study revealed that marital status has no significant influence, contrary to expectations [8]. Like the present result, a reviewed empirical study found that marital status and working hours were positively related to work-family balance.

It’s possible that female managers delegate tasks or have help at home, easing family obligations. Participants may have varying priorities regarding work and family responsibilities, which could explain the lack of significance [69, 70]. The study also found no significant impact of working hours on work-family conflict [71], suggesting that behavioral traits and workplace characteristics play a more crucial role [72, 73].

The results support previous research [74] on the link between leisure-time physical activity, dietary intake of live microbes, and depressive symptoms, indicating exercise’s potential to improve mental health by regulating gut microbiota. Future studies should delve deeper into the relationship between exercise and mental health across different cultural settings.

In terms of practice implications, this study suggests that exercise-based interventions, combined with rational-emotive therapy, could be beneficial in school settings. School administrators should consider incorporating exercise interventions to combat work-family conflict [75]. Create and incorporate REBT training into programs for female administrators’ professional growth, focusing on typical irrational beliefs about work-family balance. The implementation of this would assist women in recognizing and combating harmful thinking patterns, schedule frequent training sessions and workshops conducted by certified REBT therapists. They will be able to view their dual duties in a more positive light as a result.

Encourage educational institutions to implement REBT-aligned policies, such as those pertaining to family leave, remote work, or flexible work schedules. This will assist female administrators in collaborating with HR specialists to develop policies that lessen work-family conflict and are based on sound reasoning. Workshops on the advantages of work-life balance and how it improves well-being and performance can be held by organizations. Understanding the impact of irrational thoughts on decision-making is crucial for effective leadership in navigating conflicting situations. School administrators must balance organizational rules with personal values to steer their institutions effectively. How administrators cognitively frame reality, or how they make sense of organizational variables, is central to this study. One of the goals of counseling is to assist clients in accepting the realities of society, including organizations. In doing this, the counselor or therapist employs counseling techniques, such as reframing or cognitive restructuring. Institutionalizing counseling centers in organizations will give administrators opportunities to have a better understanding of the impact of positive perceptions of organizational variables.

Defining organizational reality as it relates to family roles and making plans of action, those in school authority should be conscious of how family and organizational variables are perceived, categorized, and interpreted. This is because families and schools are complex organizations, and leaders are frequently faced with conflicting situations that must be mentally processed to create plans of action [75, 76].

The results mentioned above can be utilized by health authorities and policymakers to develop and implement programs that promote health-enhancing behaviors among women, thereby enhancing their quality of life. We suggest implementing policy reforms in Nigeria that focus on childcare policies and practices within the framework of work-family stress and conflict. This policy should outline provisions for nursing mothers who are employees to take extended leave from work. While this may not completely eliminate conflict and stress, given that cultural norms often involve extended family members living together and sharing childcare, household chores, and other duties [77]. This, therefore, suggests the future research gap as policies on childcare may not bring a final solution to work-family conflict [78, 79].

Establishing a policy framework on the family will engage female administrators to know how to cope with economic recession increasing living costs, marital distress, and parental stress may damage the stability of family life, causing worries that interfere with work. Introducing this gives Nigerian female administrators build psychological strengths to overcome disequilibrium in work and family life.

For female administrators, this study is the first to assess the impact of a group exercise-based counseling intervention on work-family conflict, taking into account working hours and marital status. Utilizing major indicators of work-family conflict to understand their interaction and influence in the work environment is a significant strength of this study. Additionally, including principals, headteachers, and administrators from primary and secondary schools, as well as higher institutions, enhances the generalizability of the findings across different educational settings.

As outlined in the introduction section, this study contributes to the literature by offering psychological and physiological mechanisms to mitigate the effects of work-family conflict among female administrators through group-oriented coping interventions. However, this study does have some methodological flaws, such as not establishing a relationship between dysfunctional career thoughts, work-family conflict, and administrative work burnout. Clinical cases related to participants’ experiences were also not assessed. The sample size was relatively small, and the lack of validation of the intervention’s long-term effects limits the generalizability of the findings beyond female administrators in Nigeria.

Furthermore, the study did not measure clinical changes or health outcomes, which could be a limitation as work-family conflict may have lasting effects. It was also challenging to differentiate whether the intervention effect was due to exercise or counseling. Breaking down the findings into each dimension of work-life conflict, even if later aggregated, would have provided a more detailed exploration of the results in the discussion section.

The use of a single self-reported questionnaire may not have captured all the details of how the participants feel about the situation. Future studies should consider designing a separate experimental group that only receives exercise intervention to examine the different effects of the two elements. A longitudinal study should be conducted to determine if the benefits of the exercise and counseling interventions are sustained over time. Additionally, future research could focus on identifying the type, intensity, and duration of an exercise program that would be most practical and effective at improving the quality of work life.

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PUA, DM-C, MOE, and SORN conceptualized the study.MOE and SORN reviewed and validated the study. They contributed extensively to the methodology section. MOE, SORN vetted the data curation PUA, DM-C, and MOE drafted the original manuscript, and reviewed and edited the manuscript. MOE and SORN were in charge of Investigation and project administration. MOE and SORN coordinated the data analysis and provided software and resources for the study. PUA, DM-C, MOE, and SORN funded the study.

Correspondence to Saint Oliver R. Ngwoke.

In line with ethical standard of American Psychological Association, approval to conduct this study was obtained from the Strategic Contacts, Ethics, and Publication (STRACEP) Committee of the University of Nigeria. Participants completed a written informed consent form to show their willingness to participate in the study.

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