Work-home Interface Research Articles

Psychosocial factors in nursing work and occupational risks: a systematic review

to identify, in international scientific production, the main psychosocial factors in nursing work, found through the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) application. a systematic review study of psychosocial factors at work among nursing professionals, who used COPSOQ in the assessment of work environments. fifteen articles were identified, which highlighted as main psychosocial dimensions of nursing work demands, work organization, social relationships and leadership, work-home interface, workplace health and well-being and offensive behaviors. the high demands for cognitive, emotional work and work pace were identified in the nursing routine. Management support had a positive impact. Physical and psychological violence and shift work interfere in family life, aggravating the fatigue of these professionals. Interventions for reducing work stress presuppose the identification of psychosocial factors involved in nursing work.

Managerial Women managing Work-Home Interface and its effects on family and work-related issues

Managerial Women managing Work-Home Interface and its effects on family and work-related issues

Teacher Stress and burnout: a study using MIMIC modelling

A number of recent studies carried out in the education sector have re- vealed the incidence of burnout in school environments and have highlighted the principal psycho-social sources of burnout syndrome among teachers. This study attempts to look further at the results of a previous research car- ried out on a sample of 882 italian teachers. Using advanced statistcal tech- niques such as MIMIC modelling, it intends to verify whether the following psycho-social stress factors are significant as predictors: interpersonal rela- tions, workload, organisational conflict, role ambiguity, perceived role image, work-home interface. The scales we have adopted are the Maslach Burnout Inventory MBI-ES and the Cooper’s occupational stress indicator (Cooper, Sloan & Williams, 2009) specifically adapted for Italian schools. Results have shown the clear predictive role of factors such as interpersonal conflict and home-work interface in determining the onset of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization among teachers.

Correlation between Ethical Intelligence, Quality of Work Life and Caring Behaviour of Paediatric Nurses.

AimsThe aim of this study is to determine correlation between paediatric nurses' “ethical intelligence” with “quality of work life” and “caring behaviour.”DesignDescriptive correlational study.MethodsData were collected with EIQ, QWL and CBI. Two hundred and one nurses and 201 caregivers of children hospitalized in a paediatric hospital in Tehran were randomly selected as participants. Data were analysed by SPSS. The data were collected in 2019.ResultsComparison of the subscale “ethical intelligence” with the scale “quality of work life” indicated a significant positive correlation between “honesty” with “job and carrier satisfaction” and “forgiveness” with “job and carrier satisfaction”. In addition, findings showed a significant positive correlation between “honesty” and “control at work” and between “accountability” with “home–work interface.” There was no significant correlation between “ethical intelligence” and “caring behaviours” and between nurses' “quality of work life” and “caring behaviours.” Structural equation modelling showed a correlation between nurses' “ethical intelligence” and “quality of work life.”

Antecedents of safety behavior in construction: A literature review and an integrated conceptual framework

There has been no scarcity in the literature of suggested antecedents of employee safety behavior, and this paper brings together the disaggregated antecedents of safety behavior in the construction field. In total, 101 eligible empirical articles are obtained. Bibliometric and context analyses are combined to identify the influential journals, scholars, keywords, use of theory, research methods, and countries or regions of the empirical samples. The 83 factors that are identified are divided into five groups, namely (a) individual characteristics, (b) workgroup interactions, (c) work and workplace design, (d) project management and organization, and (e) family, industry, and society. This indicates that the causes of safety behavior are manifold. Various factors from different systems likely work in concert to create situations in which an individual chooses to comply with safety rules and participate voluntarily in safety activities. Given this, we propose that safety behavior is only an ostensible symptom of more complex “The Self–Work–Home–Industry/Society” systems and establish a safety behavior antecedent analysis and classification model. Based on this model, we develop a resource flow model, illustrating why, how, and when the flow of resources between the five systems—namely the self system, work system, home system, work–home interface system, and industry/society system—either promotes or inhibits safety behavior. The safety behavior antecedent analysis and classification model and resource flow model are based mainly on bioecological system theory and resources theories. Avenues for future theoretical development and method designs are suggested based on the reviewed findings and the two conceptual models. The intention with this systematic review together with the two integrated conceptual models is to advance theoretical thinking on how safety behavior can be promoted, or instead, inhibited.

Combined Effects of Fatigue Indicators on the Health and Wellbeing of Workers in the Offshore Oil Industry

Offshore workers are exposed to a unique combination of factors that may impact negatively on well-being. This paper describes results from a survey of fatigue, health and injury amongst seafarers and installation personnel working in the UK sector of the offshore oil industry. Potential stressors and fatigue­ related variables (e.g. noise, working hours, and shift) were considered in terms of their combined effects on subjective outcome measures. Median splits of these variables were summed to create a 'total fatigue indicators' score. A quartile split of this variable was entered into a series of analyses of covariance (ANCOVA), co-varying age, education and socio-economic status (SES) and stratifying for occupational group (i.e. seafarers or installation personnel). Total fatigue indicators demonstrated a linear effect on depression, cognitive failures, social functioning, lack of/poor quality sleep, fatigue, and the home-work interface. Effects were more pronounced amongst installation personnel than seafarers. This is possibly due to fundamental differences in shift systems between the two groups of offshore workers. No significant effects were observed for injury frequency, prescribed medication or smoking and alcohol consumption. Results suggest that exposure to a combination of stressors has a significantly greater negative effect on health than any of these factors in isolation.

A Hybrid Heart Failure VAD Coordinator Model Decreases Burnout and Improves Work Quality of Life

Introduction The optimal structure of the multidisciplinary VAD team to optimize patient outcomes while maximizing provider satisfaction is unclear. The resource and time intensity of caring for VAD patients contributes to a high rate of burn-out and subsequent turnover, lowering overall job satisfaction and causing disruption in patient-care. Despite the proliferation of VAD programs, guidelines do not address this topic. We describe a hybrid model wherein HF nurse practitioners also function as VAD coordinators as an attempt to mitigate these challenges. Methods Starting in January 2020, The University of Florida Advanced HF Program reorganized its 6 advanced practice providers (APPs) to allow for 1 in-patient APP and 5 out-patient APPs. All APPs are trained in the care of acute and chronic HF, including advanced HF syndromes as well as in the management of VADs creating 6 HF/VAD Coordinators. The in-patient coordinator is actively involved in the care of HF and VAD patients admitted to the HF service while facilitating communication with the out-patient coordinators and arranging follow-up. The out-patient coordinators are assigned to specific HF Cardiologists, and along with HF and VAD office assistants, create a HF/VAD Care Team. The out-patient coordinators lead our post-implant VAD care, managing anticoagulation and blood pressure, while reviewing labs and imaging. Both HF and VAD patients have access to a HF/VAD Coordinator and this call is divided equally amongst all APPs. Regulatory and compliance assistance is provided by 5 HF/VAD assistants and 2 research assistants for INTERMACs data entry. After implementation of this model, APP burnout was assessed via the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) and work satisfaction was assessed via the Work-Related Quality of Life Scale (WR-QOLS) and compared to results from a previously published national sample of VAD Coordinators. Results The CBI and WR-QOLS were completed by all 6 APPs. CBI demonstrated significantly lower levels of Personal Burnout (PB) and Work-Related Burnout (WRB) as well as a trend towards improvement in Client-Related Burnout (CRB) [PB 31.9 vs 54.1 p = 0.009, WRB 36.3 vs 53.0 p = 0.028, CRB 22.4 vs 36.0 p = 0.12]. WR-QOLS demonstrated a significantly higher Home-Work Interface (HWI) with trend towards higher General Well-Being (GWB) and Working Conditions (WCS) as well as lower Stress at Work (SAW) [HWI 4.4 vs 3.1 p = 0.003, GWB 4.2 vs 3.6 p = 0.086, WCS 4.3 vs 3.7 p = 0.079, SAW 3.4 vs 2.5 p = 0.051]. There was no difference in Job-Career Satisfaction (JCS) or Control at Work (CAW) [JCS 4.2 vs 3.7 p = 0.136, CAW 3.6 vs 3.6 p = 1]. Overall Quality of Work Life (OVL) was significantly higher [OVL 4.0 vs 3.3, p = 0.019]. Conclusions A hybrid HF-VAD coordinator model provides better work life quality and lower levels of burnout when compared to national benchmarks. Future investigation will explore how this hybrid approach affects patient satisfaction and continuity of care. These and forthcoming data may help to inform guidelines regarding optimal VAD coordinator staffing models.

Combinations of Workplace Stressors and Work- Related Injuries

Consideration of factors associated with increased accident likelihood has tended to concentrate on the influence of one specific factor (for example, noise) and other influences are either not considered or are controlled for. The aim here was to examine the influence of combinations of stressors on the prevalence of workplace accidents using self-report measures of exposure, health and work outcomes. Logistic regression analyses were carried out, with 'work-related/non-work-related accident' as the dependent variable. The main predictors were combinations of physical agents (noise, fumes, hazardous substances) and temporal stressors (night and shift work, long working hours). Additional predictors - the job demand-control-support model (Karasek 1979; Johnson and Hall 1988) and home-work interface (HWI) were also investigated. Other measured predictors (i.e., age, sex and social class based on occupation) were included in all analyses. There was some evidence for an increased likelihood of work-related accidents in those exposed to combinations of stressors - increased likelihood was largely due to independent effects of stressors, particularly noise. Certain stressors were also associated with a decreased risk of having a work-related accident (i.e. unpredictable work hours). Job-demand-control-support did not have a major impact on predicting work-/nonwork-related accident likelihood. Prevalence of accidents at work largely reflected social class based on occupation - 'skilled manual workers' or 'partly skilled workers' were most likely to have an accident.

Seeing the Finish Line? Retirement Perceptions and Wellbeing among Social Workers.

Planning for future health and social services (HSS) workforces must be informed by an understanding of how workers view their work within the context of their life and the challenges they will face across the course of life. There is a range of policies and provisions that states and organisations can adopt to create sustainable careers, support wellbeing at work, and extend working lives where appropriate, but the potential impact of these policies on the make-up of the workforce remains under investigation. This paper makes the case that service planners need to appreciate complex interplay between wellbeing and career decisions when planning the future workforce. It makes use of a recent survey of United Kingdom (UK) social workers (n = 1434) to illustrate this interplay in two ways. First, we present the analysis of how social workers’ perception of retirement and extended working lives are associated with dimensions of Work-Related Quality of Life (WRQL). We find that social workers who agreed that a flexible working policy would encourage them to delay their retirement scored lower on the Home-Work Interface and Control at Work dimensions of WRQL, while social workers who indicated a perception that their employer would not wish them to work beyond a certain age had lower Job and Career Satisfaction scores. Second, we propose a new typology of retirement outlooks using latent class analysis of these attitudinal measures. An 8-class solution is proposed, and we demonstrate the predictive utility of this scheme. Results are discussed in terms of the challenges for ageing Western populations and the usefulness of analysis such as this in estimating the potential uptake and impact of age-friendly policies and provisions.

The Status Dynamics of Role Blurring in the Time of COVID-19.

Has the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic altered the status dynamics of role blurring? Although researchers typically investigate its conflictual aspects, the authors assess if the work-home interface might also be a source of status—and the relevance of schedule control in these processes. Analyzing data from nationally representative samples of workers in September 2019 and March 2020, the authors find that role blurring is associated with elevated status, but the onset of coronavirus disease 2019 weakens that effect. Likewise, schedule control enhances the status of role blurring, but its potency is also weakened during the pandemic. These findings align with the suggestion that role blurring signals a commitment to work and adherence to ideal worker norms. However, the pandemic changed that by intensifying role integration and possibly by reducing the degree of agency once associated with role blurring. The loss of choice around role blurring might have also diluted the distinctive status that it once carried.

A contribution to the validation of the Italian version of the work-related quality of life scale.

Background:Quality of working life has been shown to play a key role in reducing strain inside and outside the workplace, supporting the fulfillment of workers’ wellbeing and increasing workforce productivity. Van Laar et al. in 2007 developed the Work-Related Quality of Life (WRQoL) scale that was applied to several different work environments and translated into nine languages.Objectives:We aimed to test and validate an Italian version of the WRQoL scale.Methods:A cross-sectional design was conducted to collect a sample of healthcare professionals (N=430) in 8 hospitals in the Northwest of Italy. Internal consistency of each scale was tested through Cronbach’s alpha. A Confirmatory factor analysis was performed. Independent samples t-tests and ANOVA were performed to determine whether the scores on the subscales differed according to various socio-demographic variables.Results:A seven factors structure was confirmed (Control at work; General well-being; Home-work interface; Stress at Work; Job and career satisfaction; Working conditions; Employee Engagement; χ2=682.453, p<.001; χ2 and df(251) ratio=2.71; CFI=.90; RMSEA=.06; SRMR=.06). All subdimensions showed Cronbach’s alphas ≥ 0.70 but for Stress at Work (alpha 0.65). The subscales differentiated between groups of people according to several socio-demographic characteristics (i.e., profession, age, length of employment).Discussion:The Italian version of WRQoL is a brief and sufficiently reliable tool that can contribute to a more complex and complete evaluation of the psychological well-being at work due to its multidimensionality. Overall, the use of this tool in occupational health practice, in addition to that of other instruments already available, should prove useful in monitoring workers’ well-being before and after interventions.

Workload and quality of working life in shift and nonshift workers of a water and wastewater contracting company in 2018

Background: Workload is one of the most important factors leading to the occurrence of work-related injuries that can have impacts on quality of working life (QoWL). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare workload and QoWL in shift and nonshift workers of a water and wastewater contracting company. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, workload and QoWL for all workers of a water and wastewater contracting company were investigated. Fifty-one shift workers and 38 daytime workers completed NASA Task Load Index (TLX) as well as QoWL Scale by Van Laar et al. The data were analyzed by R software. Results: The results showed that physical demands of NASA-TLX in shift workers were higher than those in daytime ones. Among the dimensions of QoWL Scale, only the difference between the average scores for home–work interface was significant in a way that the conditions for the group of shift workers were more favorable. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the volume of work and the quality of work in shift and nonshift workers are not significantly different and One reason is that the shift group had 12 hours more work and 24 hours more rest. The correlation between the dimensions of workload and QoWL demonstrated that increased workload would lead to a decline in QoWL.

Quality of Life among Surgical Residents at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND:Surgical residency program is considered one of the toughest residency programs, which affects quality of life of the residents during training years. To date, no study has evaluated quality of life among residents, especially surgical residents here in Saudi Arabia.AIM:The objective of this study is to evaluate quality of life among surgical residents.METHODS:The study is a cross-sectional study conducted during September 2018 in King Khalid Hospital at King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC) Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The study utilized the Work-Related Quality of Life, WRQoL, scale which measures perceived quality of life covering six domains: General Well-Being (GWB), Home-Work Interface (HWI), Job and Career Satisfaction (JCS), Control at Work (CAW), Working Conditions (WCS) and Stress at Work (SAW), in addition to demographic questions, asking about (age, gender, marital status, resident level, specialty, BMI, smoking, number of days of exercise per week, hours of sleep per day, on-calls per month, clinics per week, operations per week).RESULTS:Of the 99 surgical residents training at KAMC, 73 residents returned the survey with a response rate of 72.8%. The mean age of the residents was 28 ± 2.1 years with the mean BMI of 25 kg/m2. 54.8% were married, and 42.5% were smokers. Half of the residents (50.7%) working in King Abdulaziz Medical City have low work-related quality of life. In comparison between male and female residents’ overall Quality of life, there was no significant difference between them (p = 0.363).CONCLUSIONS:Our main study finding is that half of the residents (50.7%) working at KAMC has low work-related quality of life, and there is no significant difference between male and female residents. Further studies are needed to determine the causes and improve the work-related quality of life among surgical residents.

Identifying Work-Related Internet's Uses-at Work and Outside Usual Workplaces and Hours-and Their Relationships With Work-Home Interface, Work Engagement, and Problematic Internet Behavior.

Many studies have analyzed the uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for work, with some focusing on use at the office and others on use outside the traditional workplace and workday. However, there is little research encompassing all work uses of ICTs, both in and out of the office, and on the ways in which they affect employees’ attitudes toward their work and quality of life. Thus, the present study aims to (a) explore the links between intensity, places, and time periods of using the Internet for work; (b) examine whether Internet uses for work are related to the perceived impact of work on personal life, work engagement, and Internet addiction. An empirical study was conducted based on a questionnaire survey of 502 executives. We measured their use of the Internet for business purposes both in and outside of the standard workday/workplace; the perceived impact of work on their personal life; their work engagement; and their relationship to the Internet. Four categories of Internet use for work were identified (Cluster analysis). They differed with respect to intensity, places, and time periods dedicated to Internet uses (at standard workplace, at home, while traveling; during a typical workday, a day off, or vacation). The results obtained from Multinomial Logistic Regression show that technological devices provided by the employer and personal uses of the Internet are related to the intensity, places, and time periods of executives’ work-related Internet uses. Furthermore, ANCOVAs reveal that high-intensive, extensive, and porous Internet uses for work appear to foster the permeability between work and personal life, diminish managers’ dedication and vigor at work, and favor Internet addiction. Based on these findings, we discuss the importance of the “right to disconnect” and prevention programs regarding Internet uses, two major issues that attract the attention of organizations as well as public health authorities.

Work–home conflict, antecedents and outcomes: a life-stage perspective among working parents

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine differences in work interferes with family (WIF) and family interferes with work (FIW) conflicts, their antecedents and their outcomes throughout the parenting life cycle. The following parenting stages were compared: parenthood to preschool-age children, parenthood to school-age children, parenthood to adolescents, parenthood to offspring at the launching stage and parenthood to offspring at the empty-nest stage.Design/methodology/approachThe sample included 549 working parents in Israel (270 fathers and 279 mothers). The criterion for inclusion was fulfilling the dual roles of parent and paid worker. The research questionnaires were distributed in workplaces in diverse organizations: high-tech companies, government ministries, factories and business organizations.FindingsLevels of WIF and FIW conflicts are highest during the early parenthood stages. Overload peaks during parenthood to adolescents and during the empty-nest stage. The later stages in the parenting life cycle (the launching and empty-nest stages) benefit parents: WIF and FIW conflicts are relatively low, mental well-being is relatively high and the number of roles that parents perform is higher than in earlier stages. Along the entire parenting life cycle, fathers experience higher levels of WIF conflict than mothers, but no gender differences were found in FIW conflict.Practical implicationsPublic policy should encourage employers to develop a family-friendly approach and consider the needs of both parents, based on the understanding that in addition to being breadwinners, fathers and mothers today both participate in housework and in raising children.Originality/valueFrom a theoretical perspective, the research conclusions may provide understandings for how to integrate the parental stage as a key variable in theorizing about the experience of stressors in the work–home interface.

Employees’ Perceptions of Supervisors’ Listening Skills and Their Work-Related Quality of Life

This study investigated how employees’ perceptions of their supervisors’ listening skills are associated with employees’ work-related quality of life. The study used a nationally representative sample of the employed Icelandic population (N = 453). Participants completed the Active-Empathic Listening (AEL) scale and Work-Related Quality of Life scale. Results showed that employees who rated supervisors to be higher on the AEL scale reported a higher general well-being score. More specifically, employees who perceived supervisors to have higher AEL rated their working conditions and control at work higher, reported being happier with their career and home-work interface, were generally more content with their life, and showed lower levels of stress compared to employees who perceived supervisors to have lower AEL.

Linking home–work interface, work engagement and psychological capital to customer advocacy

Purpose This paper aims to examine the influence of the work–family interface on both work engagement and the psychological capital (PsyCap) of the liquid workforce. Also, drawing from the literature on consumer behaviour, the second objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of work engagement and PsyCap on customer advocacy. Design/methodology A dyadic study was conducted, comprising 200 nurses and 200 patients from different healthcare service providers of India. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the responses collected from nurses and the patients whom they served. Findings The results confirm that the home–work interface has a positive impact on work engagement and PsyCap. The findings also confirm a positive impact of PsyCap on customer advocacy, but the effect of work engagement on customer advocacy was not significant. Research implications This study confirms that to keep liquid workers engaged in their work and to enhance their personal PsyCap, an organisation should provide the opportunity to maintain a balance between work and home needs. The findings also confirm that personal psychological resources (PsyCap) facilitate prosocial helping behaviour, which keeps customers closer and maintains them as true representatives of the organisation. Originality/value The present study is one of only a few preliminary studies examining the predictors of work engagement of liquid workers. Also, an inter-disciplinary approach was taken to understand the link between employee-level variables (home–work interface, work engagement and PsyCap) and a customer-level variable (customer advocacy).

Taking Dogs Into the Office: A Novel Strategy for Promoting Work Engagement, Commitment and Quality of Life.

Despite growing interest in “take your dog to work” days and the wellbeing benefits associated with interactions with a friendly dog (e.g., animal-assisted activities), there has been little quantification of the benefits of this. We analyzed responses to work-related (work engagement, turnover intention, work-based friendship acuity, social media use, and work-related quality of life) and dog-related (pet dog attachment and dog general health) scales from 749 employees. The predominantly female sample was comprised of 243 employees who brought their dog to work (167 = “often” brought dog to work; 76 = “sometimes” brought dog to work), the remaining 506 did not bring their dog to work. Employees who “often” took their dog to work reported higher than average work engagement on all factors (vigor, dedication, absorption, total), with significant differences reported in comparison to those who “sometimes” (vigor and total) and “never” (vigor, dedication, absorption, total) took their dog to work. Turnover intention was also significantly lower and work-based friendship acuity higher in the group of employees who “often,” compared to “never,” took their dog to work. Benefits of bringing your dog to work were also observed in terms of work-related quality of life, with higher scores on general wellbeing, home-work interface, job career-satisfaction, control at work, working conditions, and overall work quality of life in those who “often” compared to “never” take their dog to work. Employees who “never” took their dog to work reported lower use of social media during break times. We also identified factors which may be important to consider in developing dogs-in-the-workplace policies; dog-demographics including weight (i.e., size), breed-type, and training may be important to consider in defining the ideal office dog and deserve further research. Given the need to improve employee wellbeing and satisfaction to promote effective business performance and economic gain, these results have important implications for office based businesses considering allowing dogs in the workplace.

Work-life balance, job satisfaction and turnover intention amongst information technology employees

Talent retention is of particular concern in the information technology (IT) sector owing to globalisation, the skills shortage and rapidly advancing technology. Employee turnover has significant costs and negative consequences for organisations. The objective of this study was to explore the association between employees’ experiences of work-life balance (as measured by the Survey Work-Home Interaction- Nijmegen), job satisfaction (as measured by the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire) and their turnover intention (as measured by the Turnover Intention Scale). A random sample of 79 permanently employed salaried employees in a South African IT company participated in the study. The participants were represented by predominantly white and married people between the ages of 26 and 45 and people with more than 10 years’ tenure. Regression analysis showed that experiences of negative work-home interaction and positive work-home interaction significantly predicted job satisfaction and turnover intention. Job satisfaction also significantly predicted turnover intention. However, no interaction effect was observed between overall work-life balance and job satisfaction in predicting turnover intention. White employees had significantly stronger experiences of job satisfaction and negative home-work interface, while black employees had significantly stronger positive experiences of home-work interface and lower levels of job satisfaction. White and black employees, marital status and tenure groups differed significantly regarding their job satisfaction. Talent retention strategies should consider the relationships between work-life balance, job satisfaction and turnover intention.

Work-home balance in two cohorts of Norwegian doctors.

Stress linked to the balance between work and home, so-called work-home interface stress, may affect the health and life situation of doctors. Reports have shown an increase in job-related stress among Norwegian doctors. We wished to investigate the development trends for this type of stress in the period 2003-14. Work-home interface stress was measured with the aid of three questions from a validated scale, on which the respondents reported their level of stress on a scale from 1 (no stress) to 5 (very high level of stress). The measurements were made 10 and 15 years after graduation in two cohorts of doctors who had received their training within six years of each other. We used the t-test and chi-square test to compare the cohorts and to compare gender within each cohort, and linear regression analysis to adjust for any confounding factors. Doctors who had graduated later (later cohort, n = 248) reported significantly lower levels of work-home interface stress than doctors who had completed their studies six years earlier (early cohort, n = 197) (average score (standard deviation) 2.2 (1.0) vs. 2.6 (1.0), p = 0.001). This correlation remained significant after adjusting for other explanatory variables, such as gender (woman), number of children, weekly working hours and collegial and partner support. Fifteen years after graduation there were no differences between the cohorts in terms of perceived work-home interface stress. Within the cohorts there were no significant gender differences at any point of measurement. After adjustment for partner support and working hours, being a woman gave a significantly increased risk of experiencing work-home interface stress. Doctors who graduated later, experienced less work-home interface stress than those who had received their training earlier. The experience of stress was buffered in women who perceived their partner as supportive and had reduced working hours.