Job Autonomy and Control over One's Spouse: A Compensatory Process

Abstract

This research addresses the relationship between work conditions and family life by examining job autonomy and control over one's spouse. While research has shown that low job autonomy can lead to depression, this study examines a different response to low job autonomy: controlling one's spouse. Using a sample of newly married couples from the first two waves of a three-year longitudinal study where respondents are queried about their job, relations with their spouses, and self-feelings, the results show that individuals respond to reduced job autonomy not only by becoming depressed, but also by controlling their spouses. Depression and control over one's spouse are independent and not alternative responses to low job autonomy. These results hold for Year 1 and for Year 2, and they hold for husbands as well as wives. The findings are understood in terms of the compensatory process of control. Broadly speaking, negative work conditions influence relations at home, and controlling the spouse may serve to reclaim the self-view that one has control over the environment.