Identification of a dispositional tendency to experience work–family spillover

Abstract

Are individuals predisposed to experience work–family spillover? Despite theoretical relevance and practical implications related to this issue, research on this topic is scarce. With this in mind, we investigated if there is a dispositional tendency to experience work–family spillover using a nationally representative longitudinal sample. We present evidence that supports the existence of a disposition to spillover by demonstrating that (a) a dispositional factor model accounts for data better than other competing factor models, (b) the dispositional factor is stable over time at a ten-year follow up, and (c) the dispositional factor is distinct from Big-5 personality traits. Findings highlight the important role that disposition plays in reports of work–family spillover and the necessity to consider individual differences in future work–family theories.

Introduction

Social trends such as the increase in the number of dual career couples (U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011) and a growing number of employees who are responsible for the simultaneous care of aging parents and children at home (Neal & Hammer, 2007) have sparked substantial scholarly interest in the interdependency between the work and family domains (i.e., spillover). Spillover refers to bidirectional effects between work and family (i.e., work-to-family, family-to-work) that generate similarities between the two roles (Edwards & Rothbard, 2000). Existing research acknowledges positive (i.e., experiences from one domain facilitate performance in another domain) as well as negative (i.e., experiences from one domain inhibit the fulfillment of demands in another domain) spillover (Allen, 2012). The combination of direction and valence results in four focal constructs: work-to-family negative spillover (WFNS); work-to-family positive spillover (WFPS); family-to-work negative spillover (FWNS); and family-to-work positive spillover (FWPS).

Considerable research suggests that both positive and negative work–family spillover relate to various organizational outcomes (e.g., Allen et al., 2000, McNall et al., 2010). In light of this knowledge, a host of antecedents of spillover have been examined, with environmental antecedents (e.g., family and occupational/organizational factors) having received the most attention. A growing body of research, however, complements the extant literature by investigating dispositional variables as predictors of spillover (Allen, 2012, Hammer and Zimmerman, 2011). Recent findings indicate that various individual differences such as negative affect relate to the experience of positive and negative spillover in both directions (Allen et al., 2012, Michel et al., 2011). This is a welcome addition to the literature considering that work–family experiences are a result of the interaction between environmental and person factors (Grzywacz & Marks, 2000).

Among studies that emphasize individual differences, research by Hecht and McCarthy (2010) deserves emphasis due to its unique contribution of demonstrating evidence for dispositional spillover tendencies. By showing that such tendencies exist and might originate from person characteristics (e.g., psychological resources and appraisal style), it highlights the profound role of personal attributes in the experience of work–family spillover. Further, considering such dispositions allows a novel perspective to work–family spillover; propensities for interrole conflict and facilitation are thought to exist beyond facet-level spillover (WFPS, WFNS, FWPS, and FWNS).

Extending this stream of research, the objective of the current study is to determine if a dispositional tendency exists to experience work–family spillover in general. We build on the findings of Hecht and McCarthy by providing evidence for a broader disposition that encompasses not only the direction of the spillover, but also the valence of the spillover. That is, we demonstrate that there is a dispositional tendency that links all four spillover constructs. Acknowledging this individual difference contributes to the work–family literature by providing an opportunity to better understand relationships among the four work–family spillover constructs (e.g., Greenhaus and Powell, 2006, Sumer and Knight, 2001). If a disposition to spillover that relates to all types of spillover indeed exists, previously observed associations among the spillover constructs might have been inflated or attenuated as a function of this trait. Clear understanding of the relationships among focal constructs is fundamental for synthesizing knowledge and developing future theories.

Next, our research advances the work–family literature that has focused on the link between specific personality factors and spillover (e.g., Bruck and Allen, 2003, Wayne et al., 2004) by examining an individual difference that is distinct from frequently studied personality variables (e.g., the Big-5). In this manner, we also broaden the domain of individual differences by testing the notion that a unique dispositional tendency exists that underlies the experience of spillover regardless of its valence and direction. Finally, we add to the small number of studies that have examined different forms of work–family spillover longitudinally (e.g., Frone et al., 1997, Grandey et al., 2005) by demonstrating the stability of the disposition to spillover over a 10-year interval. Previous longitudinal work–family research has been based on relatively short time lags (see Frone et al., 1997 for an exception). Thus, little is known with regard to the stability of spillover over a long period of time. We extend our knowledge of the temporal variability of work–family spillover by providing evidence to support the notion that the level of spillover that an individual experiences might be consistent by virtue of disposition to spillover.

In the following sections, we test a series of research questions to provide evidence of a disposition to spillover. First, we examine whether considering this disposition uniquely contributes to our understanding of work–family spillover above and beyond the four existing constructs through comparisons of factor models. This follows the long-held tradition of establishing psychological constructs via factorial validation (Cronbach & Meehl, 1955). Apart from factorial validity, we further examine the temporal stability of the disposition to spillover over a 10-year interval with the expectation that individual dispositions are stable over time (Funder, 2001). Finally, we investigate discriminant validity of the disposition to spillover; specifically, we examine whether the proposed dispositional factor can be distinguished from Big-5 personality traits.