Longitudinal Stability of Work–Family Enrichment and its Association With Well-Being and Personality Traits

Abstract

Are higher levels of work–family enrichment a consequence or manifestation of certain personality traits and individuals’ psychological functioning? Using random intercept cross-lagged panel models, we examined the hypothesized stability of work-to-family enrichment (WFE) and family-to-work enrichment (FWE) over two 10-year intervals, and the extent to which the within-person changes of WFE and FWE are associated with personality traits, psychological well-being, and possible gender differences. In this 20-year, longitudinal data analysis of employed adults ( N = 535), results indicated the robust nature of the stability of WFE and FWE. Our results suggest that personality traits are not associated with within-person change for either WFE or FWE, but psychological well-being is associated with within-person change. Theoretically and conceptually, our findings provide strong evidence that work–family enrichment is not simply an “optimistic worldview” created by personality and well-being. The within-person results lend strong evidence that interventions that improve psychological well-being will also enhance work–family enrichment.

Work-family enrichment: A potential buffer of inflammation among black adults?

“…Covariate adjustment for personality (i.e., extraversion) and positive affect did not attenuate the WtoFE effect. These results suggest that work-family enrichment is not simply an optimistic worldview as suggested by ( Kim et al, 2021 ). Instead, it seems that work-family enrichment is a positive experience that, similarly to others ( Bono et al, 2013 ; N. L. Sin et al, 2015 ), suggests that favorable events and circumstances, like a well-fitted work-family arrangement, may impede pro-inflammatory processes and presumably decrease risk of CVD.…”

“…Similarly, individuals with higher positive affectivity had higher levels of both WtoFE and FtoWE ( Michel and Clark, 2009 ; Tement and Korunka, 2013 ). However, self-reported levels of WtoFE and FtoWE are remarkably stable across 30 years and not attributed to personality traits or well-being ( Kim et al, 2021 ). Instead, Kim and colleagues contend that work-family enrichment is a positive experience that is actively constructed and sustained, thereby creating enduring potential for well-being.…”

The effects of applying time management skills on the work-family conflict and work - family enrichment in pre-hospital emergency technicians

“…Generally, time management focuses on avoiding unnecessary tasks, increasing efficiency, organizing, and delegating authority. In other words, time management includes identifying needs and goals, classifying them based on priority, and allocating the time and other necessary resources to reach them (21). Regarding the bidirectional nature of the work-family conflict (10), when time management leads to a better performance in family roles, this good experience will also positively affect working life and vice versa.…”

“…Thus, it can be assumed that the present intervention was able to reduce work-family conflict in the intervention participants; this might, in turn, have led to a positive experience in family life or working life. It is proposed that work-family enrichment is bidirectional (21); consequently, these positive experiences have resulted in an improved experience of family and work life. As one of the limited research conducted to investigate the effect of applying time management skills in pre-hospital technicians, the results of the present study can be used to design future studies in this area.…”

Seeing the big picture during the COVID-19 pandemic: the spillover effects of visionary leadership on employees’ work-to-family conflict

“…Third, although we used WFC as a key variable to reflect family domain outcomes, there are other important variables that can reflect employees' quality of family life from different angles, such as family satisfaction, marital satisfaction, family stress, and work-family enrichment (Kim et al, 2021;Li et al, 2017). To better understand the potential spillover effects of visionary leadership on employees' nonwork domains, future studies could explore the mechanisms of the relationships between visionary leadership and these family-related outcomes.…”