Work Demands on Administrators and Spouse Well-Being

Abstract

This field study investigated the relationship of work demands experienced by 85 male senior administrators of correctional institutions and the well-being of their spouses. Data were collected by means of questionnaires completed independently by the husbands and their wives. The results indicated that wives whose husbands reported greater occupational demands reported (1) less marital and life satisfaction, (2) decreased social participation, and (3) increased psychosomatic symptoms and negative feeling states. In no case was wives' well-being enhanced as a function of increased occupational demands on husbands. Job demands thus had an influence beyond the workplace and into the lives of their spouses. The interaction between work and nonwork experiences for the quality of individual's lives and the interdependence of husband and wife in this regard require further consideration.