For better or for worse family-related well-being: A meta-analysis of crossover effects in dyadic studies

Workload, job, and family satisfaction in dual-earning parents with adolescents: the mediating role of work-to-family conflict

Introduction

The study examined the direct and indirect effects of parents' workload, work-to-family conflict (WtoFC), job satisfaction, and family satisfaction among dual-earning parents and their adolescent children.

Methods

A total of 516 dual-earning parents and one adolescent child were enlisted for the study using non-probabilistic sampling. Mothers and fathers completed assessments about workload, WtoFC, and the Overall Job Satisfaction Scale, while all three family members responded to the Satisfaction with Family Life Scale.

Results

The data were analyzed using the mediation Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and structural equation modeling. The findings revealed a negative association between mothers' workload and family satisfaction. Moreover, both parents' workloads reduce adolescents' family satisfaction. Both parents' workload was positively associated with their WtoFC. Additionally, WtoFC was found to significantly mediate across intraindividual and interindividual domains, linking workload and job satisfaction in parents and workload and family satisfaction for parents and their adolescent children.

Discussion

These empirical insights underscore the critical need to mitigate workload and WtoFC to enhance parental job satisfaction and family satisfaction of all family members. The study's practical implications provide the audience with actionable insights that can be applied to workplace practices, empowering them to make informed decisions.

Is 'me-time' selfish?: Daily vitality crossover in dual-earner couples

This multisource daily diary study examined the recovery outcomes of working mothers' time spent for the self (i.e. me-time) and whether the benefits crossover to their husbands. Drawing on the recovery literature, we hypothesised that working mothers' me-time positively relates to their vitality. In line with the crossover theory, we expected a positive relationship between mothers' and their husbands' vitality, mediated via hostile marital interaction. Because working mothers commonly associate guilt with spending time for themselves, we further examined whether the benefits of me-time are qualified by mothers' guilt-proneness. Data were collected from 79 dyads of heterosexual dual-earner couples with children at bedtime for two work weeks. As expected, working mothers' me-time positively related to their own vitality, controlling for their time spent for others. Moreover, mothers' vitality positively related to their husbands' vitality, which was mediated by mothers' hostile marital interaction reported by husbands. Contrary to our expectation, the well-being benefits of me-time were similar across working mothers regardless of their guilt-proneness. Bridging two streams of research on recovery and crossover, this study represents an important contribution to the literature.

Dyadic effects of work overcommitment on depression in dual-earner couples: based on the actor-partner interdependence model

In this study, we aimed to examine the actor and partner effects of overcommitment on depression in dual-earner couples and the potential mediating role of emotional exhaustion at the actor and partner levels. With a cross-sectional design, 172 dual-earner couples in Chongqing, China, completed the measures of overcommitment, emotional exhaustion, and depression. The results showed that (a) overcommitment has a significant actor effect on depression for the husband and wife, and there were gender differences in the partner effects; that is, a wife's overcommitment has a significant partner effect on the husband's depression, while a husband's partner effect was not significant; (b) emotional exhaustion mediated the effects of overcommitment on depression for both husbands and wives at the actor level, while at the partner level, only a wife's exhaustion mediated the partner effect of a wife's overcommitment on a husband's depression. Focusing on couples' interdependence, these results enriched the understanding of the relationship between overcommitment and depression within dual-earner couples.

Testing spillover-crossover effects of work-family conflict and family-work conflict on Indonesian spouses

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the spillover–crossover effects on the work–family interface, with an emphasis on work–family conflict (WFC) and family–work conflict (FWC) on marital satisfaction and personal burnout.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from matched dyads by 300 teachers and their spouses (N = 600) in Indonesia. Multiple regression analysis served to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The results showed significant spillover–crossover effects of WFC on personal burnout amongst working wives to their spouses, but not working husbands to their spouses. Moreover, there was a spillover effect of FWC on personal burnout amongst working wives, and a crossover effect of FWC on spouses' personal burnout amongst working husbands to their spouses. However, there was no spillover–crossover effect of WFC and FWC on marital satisfaction for both working wives and husbands.

Practical implications

The findings have implications for occupational stress management. Decision-makers have to create a positive atmosphere that reduces WFC in the workplace by providing support to the workers.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by exploring the crossover effects of WFC and FWC amongst marital spouses in a country with inherent conservatism and traditional gender role perspectives.

Job satisfaction as a mediator between family-to-work conflict and satisfaction with family life: a dyadic analysis in dual-earner parents

Family-to-work conflict has received less attention in the literature compared to work-to-family conflict. This gap in knowledge is more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the documented increase in family responsibilities in detriment of work performance, particularly for women. Job satisfaction has been identified as a mediator between the family and work domains for the individual, but these family-to-work dynamics remain unexplored at a dyadic level during the pandemic. Therefore, this study tested the relationship between family-to-work conflict and job and family satisfaction, and the mediating role of job satisfaction between family-to-work conflict and family satisfaction, in dual-earner parents. A non-probability sample of 430 dual-earner parents with adolescent children were recruited in Rancagua, Chile. Mothers and fathers answered an online questionnaire with a measure of family-to-work conflict, the Job Satisfaction Scale and Satisfaction with Family Life Scale. Data was analysed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model with structural equation modelling. Results showed that, for individuals, a higher family-to-work conflict is linked to lower satisfaction with both their job and family life, and these two types of satisfaction are positively associated with one another. Both parents experience a double negative effect on their family life satisfaction, due to their own, and to their partner's family-to-work conflict; however, for fathers, this effect from their partner occurs via their own job satisfaction. Limitations and implications of this study are discussed, indicating the need of family-oriented workplace policies with a gender perspective to increase satisfaction in the family domain for workers and their families.