The Effects of Daily Job Conditions on the Quality of Family Life

Abstract

In this study we aimed to have a closer look at the consequences of daily work life on employees’ family life. Whereas previous studies mainly looked at consequences of work for the individual employee, we examine the effects of daily job demands and resources on the quality of the interactions for the family as a unit. Moreover, the recently extended version of the Job Demands – Resources model, distinguishing between challenge and hindrance job demands, was tested on diary data. On five consecutive days employees reported their job conditions (job demands, job resources) and work experiences (work engagement and exhaustion) right after work, while they reported their affective states (positive and negative affect) at home before going to sleep. Partners rated the daily family quality. The results showed that hindrance demands had mainly detrimental consequences on family quality, while partners rated the quality of family interactions higher when employees had experienced more challenge demands and more job resources at work. The process whereby daily job conditions affect daily family quality could be partially ascribed to the spillover of affective states from work to the family domain. We conclude that employees daily work life has wider consequences than their own experiences and outcomes. Jobs with plenty of challenging tasks and resources seem to benefit the family as a whole.