Burnout and demographic characteristics of workers experiencing different types of work-home interaction

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore configurations of positive versus negative interactions between work and home (WHI) and their relation to burnout and demographic characteristics. Material and Methods: Sample of 533 Polish workers were interviewed by means of self-administered qu...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dorota Merecz, Aleksandra Andysz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine 2014-12-01
Series:International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ijomeh.eu/Burnout-and-demographic-characteristics-of-workers-experiencing-different-types-of-work-home-interaction,2121,0,2.html
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Summary:Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore configurations of positive versus negative interactions between work and home (WHI) and their relation to burnout and demographic characteristics. Material and Methods: Sample of 533 Polish workers were interviewed by means of self-administered questionnaires (SWING and MBI-GS). Demographic and work characteristics were also controlled. Results: Cluster analysis distinguished 5 types of WHIs: positive WHI (18%), negative WHI (15.9%), no interaction (29.3%), mutual positive interactions (15.4%) and positive HWI (21.4%). The quality of WHI was associated with number of work hours and tenure at main place of employment. The effect of gender on the quality of work-home interaction was not significant. Configuration of WHIs affected the level of burnout. Again, there was no significant difference between men and women in terms of burnout and its sub-dimensions. The least burned-out were people from positive WHI, positive HWI and mutual positive interaction groups. The most burned-out were people who experienced negative WHI the most often. In this group, predominance of men working more than 10 h per day was observed. The majority of study group (71%) experienced rather integration than segmentation of both spheres. Conclusions: Our results suggest that segmentation is not an universal and effective strategy of coping with work and home demands – it may prevent the positive home-work spillover, which can be buffer or remedy against stress or burnout. We consider cluster analysis the appropriate method in research on relation to work-family balance issue, which may be useful in unraveling relationships between this phenomenon and attitudes and behaviors.
ISSN:1232-1087
1896-494X