Abstract
A more balanced view of nonwork-to-work spillover was advanced here. The concentration of research on the negative side may serve to support some damaging assumptions about professional women. A sample of 221 experienced managers indicated how parenting, community work, and recreation affected work both positively and negatively, and the extent they used certain coping strategies. Women comprised 35% of the sample and ethnic minorities comprised 18%. The managers agreed more strongly with statements about positive nonwork-to-work spillover than with those about the negative side. Women and men reported largely the same levels of nonwork involvement, time commitment, satisfaction, positive spillover, and use of the coping strategies. Compared to men, women did report lower negative spillover overall, and greater use of the strategies when they were parents. The findings suggest that employers should be less concerned with how active women are in nonwork, and more concerned with how well both men and women manage their various life domains.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barling, J. (1986). Interrole conflict and marital functioning amongst employed fathers. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 7, 1–8.
Barnett, R. C., & Baruch, G. K. (1985). Women's involvement in multiple roles and psychological distress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 135–145.
Beutell, N. J., & Greenhaus, J. H. (1983). Integration of home and nonhome roles: Women's conflict and coping behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 68, 43–48.
Beutell, N. J., & O'Hare, M. M. (1987). Work-nonwork conflict among MBA's: Sex differences in role stressors and life satisfaction. Work and Stress, 1, 35–41.
Bolger, N., Delongis, A., Kessler, R. C., & Wethington, E. (1989). The contagion of stress across multiple roles. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 175–183
Cooke, R. A., & Rousseau, D. M. (1984). Stress and strain from family roles and work-role expectation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69, 252–260.
Crouter, A. C. (1984). Spillover from family to work: The neglected side of the work-family interface. Human Relations, 37, 425–442.
Frone, M. R., & Rice, R. W. (1987). Work-family conflict: The effect of job and family involvement. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 11, 79–96.
Frone, M. R., Russell, M., & Cooper, M. L. (1992). Antecedents and outcomes of work-family conflict: Testing a model of the work-family interface. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 65–78.
Gray, J. D. (1983). The married professional woman: An examination of her role conflicts and coping strategies. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 7, 235–243.
Gutek, B. A., Searle, S., & Klepa, L. (1991). Rational versus gender role explanations for work-family conflict. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 560–568.
Greenhaus, J. H., Bedeian, A. G., & Mossholder, K. W. (1987). Work experiences, job performance, and feelings of personal and family well-being. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 32, 200–215.
Greenhaus, J. H., & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family life. Academy of Management Review, 10, 76–88.
Hall, D. T. (1972). A model of coping with role conflict: The role behavior of college educated women. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17, 471–486.
Holahan, C. K., & Gilbert, L. A. (1979). Conflict between major life roles. Human Relations, 32, 451–467.
Kanter, R. M. (1977). Work and family in The United States: A critical review and agenda for research and policy. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Kirchmeyer, C. (1992). Perceptions of nonwork-to-work spillover: Challenging the common view of conflict-ridden domain relationships. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 13, 231–249.
Lodahl, T. M., & Kejner, M. (1965). The definition and measurement of job involvement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 49, 24–33.
Marks, S. R. (1977). Multiple roles and role strain: Some notes on human energy, time and commitment. American Sociological Review, 42, 921–936.
Morrison, A. M., White, R. P., & Van Velsor, E. (1987). Breaking the glass ceiling. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Near, J. P., Rice, R. W., & Hunt, R. G. (1980). The relationships between work and nonwork domains: A review of empirical research. Academy of Management Review, 5, 415–429.
Pearlin, L., & Schooler, C. (1982). The structure of coping. In H. I. McCubbin, A. E. Cauble, & J. M. Patterson (Eds.), Family stress, coping, and social support. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Pietromonaco, P. R., Manis, J., & Frohardt-Lane, K. (1986). Psychological consequences of multiple social roles. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 10, 373–382.
Piotrkowski, C. S. (1979). Work and family system. New York: The Free Press.
Powell, G. N. (1990). One more time: Do female and male managers differ? Academy of Management Executive, 3, 68–75.
Scherer, R. F., Petrick, J. A., Brodzinski, J. D., & Goyer, K. A. (1991). Situation-dependent work stress and sex effects on coping strategies: A multivariate analysis. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Miami, FL.
Sieber, S. D. (1974). Toward a theory of role accumulation. American Sociological Review, 39, 567–578.
Thoits, P. A. (1983). Multiple identities and psychological well-being: A reformulation and test of the social isolation hypothesis. American Sociological Review, 48, 174–187.
Thoits, P. A. (1986). Multiple identities: Examining gender and marital status differences in distress. American Sociological Review, 51, 259–272.
Wiley, D. L. (1987). The relationship between work-nonwork role conflict and job-related outcomes: Some unanticipated findings. Journal of Management, 13, 467–472.
Yogev, S. (1981). Do professional women have egalitarian marital relationships? Journal of Marriage and the Family, 43, 865–871.
Yogev, S. (1986). Relationships between stress and marital satisfaction among dual-earner couples. Women and Therapy, 2, 313–330.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported by a grant from the National Centre for Management Research and Development, Canada.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kirchmeyer, C. Nonwork-to-work spillover: A more balanced view of the experiences and coping of professional women and men. Sex Roles 28, 531–552 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289679
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289679