The role of partners and children for employees' psychological detachment from work and well-being.

Abstract

This study examined the role of partners and children for employees' psychological detachment from work during off-job time. Building on boundary theory, we hypothesized that not only employees' own work-home segmentation preference but also their partners' work-home segmentation preference is associated with employees' psychological detachment. In addition, partners' psychological detachment should influence employees' psychological detachment. We hypothesized that the presence of children in the household moderates partners' influence on employees' psychological detachment. Further, we expected both employees' and their partners' psychological detachment to contribute to employees' well-being. Participants were 114 dual-earner couples who responded to Web-based questionnaires. The hypotheses were tested with multilevel analyses, using the actor-partner interdependence model. Results confirmed our hypotheses. Employees' and their partners' work-home segmentation preferences were associated with employees' psychological detachment. The presence of children moderated the relation between partners' work-home segmentation preference and employees' psychological detachment. The relation was weaker when there were children in the household. Moreover, employees' and their partners' psychological detachment were positively associated. Again, the relation was weaker when there were children in the household. Finally, both employees' and their partners' psychological detachment contributed to employees' well-being.