WorkHome Interference Does work load cause workhome interference

Work-Home Interference Does work load cause work-home interference or is it the other way around? Josje Dikkers Amsterdam Center for Career Research Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The Netherlands ∩ CCR Amsterdam Center for Career Research

Work-Home Interference • The composition of the workforce has changed; more women have joined the workforce, and the number of dual earner families is rising. • Some 40% of the Dutch workforce experiences conflicts between work and home (Geurts, Kompier, Roxburgh, & Houtman, 2003); in the USA 30% of employees and 40% of working parents report workhome conflicts (Bond, Galinsky, & Swanberg, 1998) ∩ CCR Amsterdam Center for Career Research

Process whereby one’s functioning (and behavior) in the home domain is influenced negatively by demands from the work domain (Geurts & Demerouti, 2003) ∩ CCR Amsterdam Center for Career Research

Antecedents • Several reviews (e. g. , Byron, 2005; Eby et al. , 2005) distinguish between three main categories of antecedents: 1. work domain variables (e. g. , schedule flexibility), 2. non-work or family domain variables (e. g. , marital conflict), and 3. demographic and individual variables (e. g. , income) ∩ CCR Amsterdam Center for Career Research

• Among work domain variables, research has consistently shown that work (over)load is related strongly to work-home interference – Employees experiencing high levels of work (over)load report high levels of work-home interference (WHI) • However, most previous studies are cross-sectional; causal relationships could not be demonstrated ∩ CCR Amsterdam Center for Career Research

Study • Research question: what is the causal relationship between perceived quantitative workload and WHI? – Hypothesis 1: high levels of T 1 workload are associated with increased levels of T 2 WHI – Hypothesis 2: high levels of T 1 WHI are associated with increased levels of T 2 workload ∩ CCR Amsterdam Center for Career Research

Time 1 Workload Work-home interference Time 2 H. 1 Workload H. 2 Work-home interference ∩ CCR Amsterdam Center for Career Research

Method • Sample: N = 828 Dutch police officers (85% male, M age = 42 years; 83% performing standard police work) • Two-wave, full-panel design with a 1 -year time interval • Instruments: – Workload – NOVA-WEBA (Dhondt & Houtman, 1992; 1997) – WHI – SWING (Geurts et al. , 2005) – Covariates – Gender and age – Reported job and family changes in-between the waves ∩ CCR Amsterdam Center for Career Research

• Reported changes in-between waves: 1. No job/family change(s) (N = 519) 2. Job change(s) (N = 126); mainly for better career opportunities (39%) and more challenging tasks (34%) 3. Family change(s) (N = 140) 4. Job & family change(s) (N = 31); mainly child(ren) leaving the house (26%), and childbirth (24%) ∩ CCR Amsterdam Center for Career Research

Results Time 1 Time 2 β =. 57 Workload β =. 12 Workload Work-home interference β =. 16 Work-home interference β =. 60 ∩ CCR Amsterdam Center for Career Research

Conclusions 1. Workload and WHI influence each other reciprocally over a 1 -year period; dynamic process 2. Job and family changes did not have a substantial effect on workload and WHI, nor on their relationships 3. Theoretical implication: integrative WHI models 4. Practical implication: interventions at the workplace (family-friendly policies & culture) & individual level (active coping and planning) ∩ CCR Amsterdam Center for Career Research

Questions? ∩ CCR Amsterdam Center for Career Research