Work-nonwork Interference Research Articles

Gender Differences in Job Resources and Strains in Authority Positions

In contrast to the rich literature on the causes of the gender gap in workplace authority, relatively little is known about how the jobs and experiences of women and men compare once they have positions with authority. Using linked survey and administrative data of about 100,000 women and men working in Dutch organizations, I analyzed differences in job resources (earnings, autonomy, and nonroutine work) and strains (workplace harassment, work–nonwork interference, and job burnout) between women and men in positions of workplace authority. I find that women in authority report lower levels of job resources than men with authority jobs, and are more likely to report experiences of work-related strains. Crucially, women with authority jobs are the most likely of all gender/authority status groups to report experiencing sexual harassment, bullying, and intimidation at the workplace, and they have the highest probability of reporting job burnout symptoms. These findings suggest that women’s entry into authority positions alone is not sufficient for achieving gender equality.

Satisfaction with one's job and working at home in the COVID-19 pandemic: A two-wave study.

As greater numbers of people have worked at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, workers, organisations and policy makers have begun considering the benefits of a sustained move towards homeworking, with workers' satisfaction with homeworking often cited as a key driver. But is satisfaction with homeworking that relevant to workers' overall job satisfaction? In this study, we examine whether job and homeworking satisfaction are predicted by different demands and resources, namely, those well established in the job design literature (workload, job autonomy and social support) for the former and those specific to the context of homeworking (loneliness, work-nonwork interference, work-nonwork interference and adequacy of homeworking environment) for the latter. We also explore whether homeworking satisfaction mediates the relationship between homeworking demands and resources and job satisfaction. Findings of a study of university workers during the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 753 in Phase 1, 471 in Phase 2) support our expectations about the domain-specific nature of the predictors of job and homeworking satisfaction, autonomy is positively related to job satisfaction, while loneliness, nonwork-to-work interference and inadequate homeworking environment are negatively related to homeworking satisfaction. Results also support the argument that satisfaction with homeworking mediates the relationship between homeworking factors and job satisfaction, reinforcing the value of differentiating the two concepts.

Recessionary changes at work and employee well-being: The protective roles of national and workplace institutions

The recession following the 2008 financial crisis brought major changes to employees’ experiences at work. We investigate the adverse effects of two of such changes: perceived organizational distress and job deterioration. We also examine the extent to which institutions at national level (employment protection legislation and collective bargaining coverage) and at workplace level (employment contract and union membership) may act as buffers against these effects. Using data from 21 European countries, we show that recessionary changes were associated with reduced psychological well-being and greater levels of work–nonwork interference.

Divergent concurrent and lagged effects of the reciprocal relation between work-nonwork interactions and sleep disturbance.

Work-nonwork interactions and sleep disturbances are found to be important predictors of well-being and job performance outcomes. However, little is known about the mutual interrelations of the interactions between life domains and disturbed sleep over short and long periods of time. In total, 4079 representative individuals of the Swedish working population completed three subsequent waves of surveys with a time interval of 2 years (i.e. longitudinal design). Concurrent, cross-lagged, and reverse directionality effects were simultaneously examined using autoregressive longitudinal path analysis. Contemporarily, interference between work and nonwork increased sleep disturbances, whereas work-nonwork enhancement decreased sleep disturbances. From one time point to the other, work-nonwork interference negatively related to sleep disturbances, and work-nonwork enhancement was mostly no longer (or positively) related to sleep disturbances. Over time sleep disturbances, in turn, predicted more interference and less enhancement between both life domains. The results highlight that problematic work-nonwork interactions (i.e. high work-nonwork interference and low work-nonwork enhancement) disturb an individual's sleep in the short term (i.e. cross-sectional). Furthermore, the results suggest that individuals adapt to negative work-nonwork interactions over time, but that sleep disturbances impair an individual's work-nonwork interactions 2 years later.

Burnout-depression overlap: Nomological network examination and factor-analytic approach.

Burnout has been defined as a condition in which individuals are left exhausted by a long-term confrontation with unmanageable job stressors. The question of whether burnout reflects anything other than depressive responses to unresolvable stress remains an object of debate. In this 911-participant study (83% female; mean age: 42.36), we further addressed the issue of burnout-depression overlap. Burnout was assessed with the exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) and depression with the PHQ-8. The relationships of burnout and depression with three job-related variables - illegitimate work tasks, work-nonwork interference, and job satisfaction - and three "context-free" variables - social support, general health status, and trait anxiety - were examined. Burnout and depression were found to be strongly correlated, to cluster together, and to exhibit overlapping nomological networks. Remarkably, the average correlations of burnout and depression with job-related variables were almost identical. A principal component analysis and a principal axis factor analysis both showed that the items of the MBI-GS and of the PHQ-8 loaded on a single dimension. All in all, our findings are consistent with the view that burnout is a depressive condition. The distinction between burnout and depression may be an instance of the jangle fallacy.

The influence of simultaneous interference and enrichment in work–family interaction on work-related outcomes

This study aimed to determine how work–nonwork interference and work–family enrichment operate simultaneously to influence the work-related outcomes job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and subjective career success. By employing South African work–family instruments, the study tested substantive hypotheses in this regard. A cross-sectional survey design among a sample of permanently employed married parents ( n = 212) was utilised. Statistical analyses included confirmatory factor analyses and validity assessments. Second-order measurement models were utilised in a structural equation modelling to test various hypotheses in this regard. Results indicate that work–nonwork interference and work–family enrichment operate simultaneously and are independently significantly related to work-related outcomes (except work–nonwork interference with commitment). Work–family enrichment was positively related to job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and subjective career success, while work–nonwork interference was found to be negatively related to job satisfaction and subjective career success. The findings suggest that these concepts should not be viewed as opposites on a continuum, but rather as phenomena that act independently in the nomological net of the work–family domain. The findings also suggest that work–family enrichment contributes more to the work-related outcomes than in the case of work–nonwork interference. The implication is that, in order to obtain positive work-related outcomes, it is more important to focus on fostering positive interaction in the work–family context than trying to eliminate the conflict in this regard.

Challenge and hindrance stressors and wellbeing-based work–nonwork interference: A diary study of portfolio workers

Stress-based work–nonwork interference, or negative spillover, is associated with transference of negative emotions from the work to the nonwork domain. It is argued that work–nonwork interference resulting from high work demands does not necessarily entail the reproduction of any affective states. First, calmness can result in lower work–nonwork interference and enthusiasm in higher levels. Second, hindrance stressors can be negatively related to enthusiasm and calmness, while challenge stressors are positively associated with them. Hypotheses about the relationship between stressors and interference that reflect this rationality are developed and tested using longitudinal data from a six-month diary study of portfolio workers. The results offer some support for them and indicate that both challenge and hindrance stressors are positively related to interference. However, for hindrance stressors the indirect effect is positive when mediated by calmness and negative for enthusiasm. In contrast, for challenge stressors the indirect effect is negative when mediated by calmness and positive when mediated by enthusiasm. The mediation paths are significant only for transient effects. Thus, there are indications that well-being can both increase or decrease interference depending on the nature of the stressor and whether it is mediated by calmness or enthusiasm.

Work-nonwork interference: Can ministers currently cope with increasing job demands against limited resources within South Africa?

Ministers of religion have a unique occupation with designated job demands and incongruous resources at their disposal. Literature indicates that stressors within the work environment are significant predictors of work-nonwork interference. Ministers play a key role within society and provide support for individuals on multiple levels. However, limited studies are found in South Africa focussing on ministers’ job characteristics related to work-nonwork interference, and how ministers cope. The main objective of this study was to investigate job demands and job resources as significant predictors of work-nonwork interference amongst ministers of religion, and to identify which coping strategies are most significant for ministers in dealing with work-nonwork interference. A cross-sectional survey design was used amongst ministers working in the three sister churches (N = 199). Various instruments were administered to measure job characteristics, work-nonwork interference and coping strategies empirically. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, product-moment correlations and multiple regression analyses. Results indicated that for ministers different job demands (i.e. cognitive demands and pace and amount of work) and job resources (i.e. financial support and job significance) significantly predicted work-parent, work-home and work-religion/spirituality interference. Results indicated turning to religion as the only significant coping strategy used by ministers to deal with work-parent interference and work-religion interference. Ministers of religion are continually exposed to increasing job demands and a lack of job resources, and therefore experience work-nonwork interference. Nevertheless, the ministers apparently cope by using the strategy best related to their profession, turning to religion/spirituality. Turning to religion/spirituality seems to be the most effective in dealing with work-nonwork interference.

Blurred Boundaries: Gender and Work–Family Interference in Cross-National Context

Although well theorized at the individual level, previous research has neglected the role of national context in shaping overall levels of nonwork–work and work–nonwork interference. This study fills this gap by examining how a national context of gender empowerment affects the likelihood of experiencing nonwork–work and work–nonwork interference at the individual and national levels. Controlling for individual-level differences in the distribution of job demands and resources, results from our multilevel models indicate that women’s empowerment has significant net gender and parenthood effects on nonwork–work interference. By contrast, gender empowerment equally structures work–nonwork interference for these groups. Our results highlight the need to investigate interference bidirectionally and in a multilevel context.

The impact of fluctuating workloads on well-being and the mediating role of work−nonwork interference in this relationship.

Heavy workloads have been central to the discussion of well-being. However, fluctuations in workloads have received sparse attention, even though transient and routine levels of workloads may have independent effects on well-being. The article assesses this, particularly focusing on the effort-recovery model of the workload/well-being relationship in which work-nonwork interference mediates this relationship. Using data from a weekly diary study of freelance or portfolio workers, multilevel analyses showed that both routine and transient levels of work to nonwork interference mediated the job demands-calmness relationship. Work to nonwork interference also negatively mediated the hours worked-calmness relationship, but the direct relationship between hours worked and calmness was a positive one so the mediating effect reduced this positive effect. In the case of enthusiasm, which was a second measure of well-being, there were no mediating effects but both routine and nonroutine levels of job demands and transient levels of hours worked were related to it. The study highlights the value of introducing the temporal dimension into the study of the work-nonwork interface, and the diversity of relationships that occur across different dimensions of workload and well-being.

Job characteristics, work-nonwork interference and the role of recovery strategies amongst employees in a tertiary institution

Orientation: Although work characteristics and recovery strategies are associated with work- family interference, the influence on specific types of work-nonwork interference (W-NWI) has not been investigated. Research purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of work characteristics and recovery strategies on four types of W-NWI.Motivation for the study: It is clear from the literature that job characteristics and W-NWI have adverse effects on employees’ health and well-being. It is therefore important to identify work characteristics and recovery strategies associated with W-NWI.Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used in this study. The target population was married employees with children working at a Tertiary Education Institution (TEI) in the North West Province (N = 366).Main findings: Work pressure and emotional demands significantly predicted all the work-nonwork role interference dimensions. A lack of autonomy predicted work-parent interference and work-religion and/or spirituality interference, whilst a lack of development possibilities predicted work-religion and/or spirituality interference. Relaxation and mastery recovery experiences significantly predicted lower work-parent interference. A lack of psychological detachment and relaxation were significantly associated with lower work- spouse interference. Relaxation and control significantly predicted lower work-domestic interference, whilst psychological detachment significantly predicted lower work-religion and/or spirituality interference.Practical/managerial implications: The results give managers insight into the specific work characteristics and recovery experiences that play a role in W-NWI, upon which interventions can be based to address these issues.Contribution/value-add: This study provides information on the relationship between work characteristics, recovery experiences and the effect on different types of W-NWI.

Conflict between work and nonwork roles of employees in the mining industry: Prevalence and differences between demographic groups

Orientation: International researchers have increasingly recognised the interaction between work and nonwork roles as an interesting and important topic. Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of different work–nonwork conflict subscales and differences between demographic groups in work– nonwork conflict.Motivation for the study: Several studies have shown that demographic groups differ in their experiences of the interaction between work and family life. This may also be true of conflict between work and nonwork roles. The prevalence of work–nonwork conflict and nonwork– work conflict is also very important for organisations that may find the results very valuable for developing organisational and individual interventions and performance management in organisations.Research design, approach and method: The researchers chose a random sample of mining employees (n = 245) from a platinum mine in Rustenburg. The researchers used self-developed items similar to items developed in the Work–nonwork Interference Scale of Koekemoer, Mostert and Rothmann (2010) to measure conflict between work and various nonwork roles. The researchers used descriptive statistics, paired-sample t-tests, multivariate analysis of variance and one-way analysis of variance to analyse the data.Main findings: Work–nonwork conflict was more prevalent than nonwork–work conflict. Work–family conflict was more prevalent than work–domestic conflict and work–religion/ spirituality conflict. The researchers found significant differences for marital status and language groups about work–nonwork conflict. Results showed that participants who spoke African languages experienced higher levels of private–work conflict.Practical/managerial implications: Organisations need to recognise the negative interference or conflict between work and nonwork roles for different demographic groups and address the prevalent work–nonwork conflicts in their organisations.Contribution/value-add: Organisations are able to focus interventions and programmes that specifically address the problem of work–nonwork conflict in specific roles and for different demographic groups.

Work-nonwork interference: Preliminary results on the psychometric properties of a new instrument

Orientation: Recently, a new work-nonwork interference instrument was developed to measure the interference between work and nonwork roles in the South African context (Koekemoer, Mostert & Rothmann, 2010). However, no information is available on the psychometric properties of this instrument.Research purpose: The objectives of this study were to investigate the internal validity (construct, discriminant and convergent validity), reliability and external validity (relationship with theoretically relevant variables, including job characteristics, home characteristics, burnout, ill health and life satisfaction) of the instrument.Motivation for the study: Work-family interaction is a key topic receiving significant research attention. In order to facilitate comparison across work-family studies, the use of psychometrically sound instruments is of great importance.Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used for the target population of married employees with children working at a tertiary institution in the North West province (n = 366). In addition to the new instrument, job characteristics, home characteristics, burnout, ill health and life satisfaction were measured.Main findings: The results provided evidence for construct, discriminant and convergent validity, reliability and significant relations with external variables.Practical/managerial implications: The new instrument can be used by researchers and managers as a test under development to investigate the interference between work and different nonwork roles (i.e. parental role, spousal role, work role, domestic role) and specific relations with antecedents (e.g. job/home characteristics) and well-being (e.g. burnout, ill health and life satisfaction).Contribution/value-add: This study provides preliminary information on the psychometric properties of a new instrument that measures the interference between work and nonwork.

Interference between work and nonwork roles: The development of a new South African instrument

Orientation: The interference between work and personal life is a central issue in the 21st century as employees attempt to balance or integrate their involvement in multiple social roles.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to, (1) develop new items for a more comprehensive work−nonwork interference instrument, (2) evaluate the newly developed items to retain those items that accurately capture the different dimensions and (3) eliminate undesirable items from the different subscales in the instrument.Motivation for the study: Although the interaction between work and personal life has received extensive attention in the work−family fields of research, various theoretical, empirical and measurement issues need to be addressed.Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect the data.Main findings: Initially, 89 items were developed. During the pilot study among mineworkers (n = 245), 41 poor items were eliminated on the basis of descriptive statistics, inter-item correlations, item-total correlations and the qualitative investigation of items highly redundant in terms of wording. Thereafter, the instrument (48 items) was administered to 366 support and academic personnel at a tertiary institution. Using Rasch analyses and item correlations, 18 additional items were eliminated, resulting in a 30-item instrument (15 items were retained to measure work-nonwork interference and 15 items to measure nonwork-work interference).Practical/managerial implications: A major theoretical limitation to the measurement of work−family interference relates to the dimensionality and inconsistent measurement of the directionality of interference.Contribution/value-add: With the development of this new instrument, several of the theoretical and measurement limitations voiced by previous researchers have been addressed, providing this instrument with distinct advantages over previous work−family instruments.

When Work Interferes with Life: Work-Nonwork Interference and the Influence of Work-Related Demands and Resources

Using data from a 2005 survey of U.S. workers, we find that a high percentage of employed men and women report that work interferes with nonwork life. This research offers three main contributions: (1) we document the social distribution of work-nonwork interference across social statuses and dimensions of stratification; (2) we develop a conceptual framework that specifies the influence of a comprehensive set of work resources and demands on interference and their contributions to its social distribution; and (3) we advance a “stress of higher status” perspective to understand the paradoxical influence of some work conditions on work-nonwork interference. Findings generally support both the demands hypothesis and the stress of higher status hypothesis, with patterns from both factors contributing substantially to the social distribution of work-nonwork interference. This article refines and elaborates the job demands-resources model with insights from border theory.