Job-housing balance and job burnout among migrant workers: mechanisms and implications for housing support policies

Abstract Previous studies have examined the supply of housing support and the economic impact of job-housing separation. However, they have paid inadequate attention to the location selection of affordable housing with a job-housing balance and its effects on migrant workers’ job burnout. To examine the effects and mechanisms of the job-housing balance in affordable housing locations on job burnout, this study employs the latest 2018 China Labour Force Dynamic Survey data and in-depth interview data on housing support for migrant workers collected by our research team in 2023. Our findings indicate that the job-housing balance significantly reduces job burnout, with this effect being more pronounced in the manufacturing sector and other industries. Labour intensity masks the impact of job-housing balance on job burnout, whereas work quality fully mediates this relationship exclusively in dormitory-type arrangements. This study offers policy implications for optimizing the siting of housing support projects. It also enhances the living conditions of affordable housing and promotes integrated urban-rural development.