Abstract
Scholars already demonstrated that psychologically detaching from work after workhours can diminish or avoid the negative effects of job demands on employees' well-being. In this study, we examined a curvilinear relationship between workload and psychological detachment. Moreover, we investigated the moderating influence of an employee's work-home segmentation preference on the relation between detachment and marital satisfaction. In addition, we applied and extended the stressor-detachment model by examining detachment as a mediator of the relation between workload and marital satisfaction. A total of 136 employees participated in our daily diary survey study during 10 consecutive working days. The results of the Bayesian 2-level path analyses revealed a negative linear and curvilinear relationship between workload and psychological detachment on a daily basis. Daily detachment positively related to marital satisfaction, with one's preference to segment work from home reinforcing this relationship. Moreover, psychological detachment fully mediated the daily relationship between workload and marital satisfaction. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Highlights
Since the rise of the number of dual-earner couples, research examining the interaction between the work and home domain increased
In the multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), we examined our hypothesized fourfactor measurement model in which we included our level 1 variables at the within-person level and our level 2 variable at the between-person level
We found a direct significant negative effect of linear workload on marital satisfaction, whereas our results did not indicate a significant relation between the squared effect of workload and marital satisfaction on a daily-level
Summary
Since the rise of the number of dual-earner couples, research examining the interaction between the work and home domain increased. According to the stressor-detachment model, an individual can obviate negative home outcomes resulting from job demands such as workload by recovering from work (Sonnentag, 2010). This can be done by cognitively and physically restraining from work-related activities and experiences during one’s non-working time (i.e., psychologically detaching from work after workhours; Sonnentag and Bayer, 2005). In turn this capacity to “mentally switch off ” from work has benefits for the individual, such as higher life satisfaction and less psychological strain (Sonnentag, 2012)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
