Work and Home: balancing the considerations and considering the balance

Abstract

In contemporary society, work and home represent the two most significant domains in the life of a working individual. Work-Home Interference (WHI) and Home-Work Interference (HWI) is experienced when pressures from both domains is incompatible. This thesis explored the phenomenon of WHI/HWI from multiple methodologies and contributed to the field by the introduction of a more systematic approach to the measurement of the antecedents of both. Chapter 1 provided a political, social, empirical and theoretical overview of the area. This introductory chapter provided the following conclusions; (1) WHI and HWI is a problem for both men and women, (2) the antecedents of WHI and HWI needed to be studied in a more systematic fashion, (3) a more comprehensive view of the phenomena can be ascertained by also examining positive spillover. This chapter introduced the main research questions to be examined. Chapter 2 tested a job and home demands model of WHI/HWI using a sample recruited from the Internet. More specifically, the study evaluated the mediational role of both WHI and HWI between demands and job burnout. Overall, this research made the following contributions: (1) It expanded upon our knowledge of the nature of the mediational effect of WHI and HWI on the demands-burnout relationship, (2) It offered a more precise specification of job and home demands likely to affect burnout, (3) explored possible gender differences in the network of demands, WHI/HWI, and burnout. In Chapter 3, the previous model was extended and a more complete model of demands and resources among newspaper managers was tested. The central idea underlying the theoretical model of this study was that work and home demands lead to work strain and decreased feelings of engagement, while work and home resources lead to increased feelings of engagement and reduced burnout. Results indicated that negative interference mediated between demands and outcomes, and positive interference mediated between resources and outcomes. In Chapter 4, the phenomenon of crossover was examined. Crossover was examined in a sample of information technology (IT) professionals and their working spouses. Results indicated the following: (1) For IT professionals, work-home interference (WHI) was directly linked to work-related outcomes (i.e., burnout, turnover intention); (2) Crossover effects were found between the home-work interference (HWI) of the IT professional and the exhaustion and turnover intentions of their spouse. In Chapter 5, longitudinal data concerning WHI were examined. A two-wave panel study was carried out to examine reciprocal relationships of job demands/resources and WHI with job burnout and job engagement. The results primarily showed that Time 1 job demands were causally related to WHI-negative and burnout at Time 2. Furthermore, reversed causal effects were found for engagement at Time 1, which was causally related to WHI-positive at Time 2. The reversed effects found for our resources model suggests that positive spillover is antecedent (or triggered) by feelings of engagement at work. In conclusion, work, home and the interaction between the two has been recognized as a major problem for employees, employers, families, organizations and society at large.