TRANSCENDENT COPING IN CONTEXT: EXPLORING RELIGIOUS STRATEGIES OF WORKING STUDENTS FACING WORK–FAMILY CONFLICT IN INDONESIA

Abstract

In the past decade, the complexity of managing multiple roles in work, study, and family has intensified, particularly among university students who are employed. The overlap of these responsibilities frequently triggers Work–Family Conflict (WFC), which leads to emotional exhaustion and reduced academic and work performance. While secular coping strategies have been widely examined, understanding of the role of religious coping in the context of WFC remains limited, especially in collectivistic and highly religious societies such as Indonesia. This qualitative phenomenological study aims to explore how 25 working students in Jakarta use religious coping to manage the psychological strain arising from WFC. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews and analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis framework. The findings indicate that religious coping serves two main functions: (1) emotional regulation through prayer, worship, and spiritual reflection, and (2) meaning-making, whereby participants reconstruct suffering as a spiritual test or entrusted responsibility (amanah). Engagement in religious communities such as church service and online religious study groups provides social–spiritual support that strengthens resilience and a sense of belonging. These findings support the concepts of positive religious coping and meaning-centered coping, while highlighting spirituality as a culturally embedded adaptive resource. The study extends WFC theory by integrating Conservation of Resources Theory and Religious Coping Theory, and underscores the need for spiritually grounded higher education interventions such as spiritual counseling, gratitude training, and faith-based mentoring. Although rooted in the Indonesian context, the findings are cross-culturally relevant for other religious countries facing similar challenges among working students.