Publications

Are individuals bounding work and family the way they would like? Much of the work–family boundary literature focuses on whether employees are segmenting or integrating work with family, but does not explore the boundaries workers would like to have, nor does it examine the fit between desired and enacted boundaries, or assess boundary stability. In this study, 23 respondents employed at a large Fortune 500 company were interviewed about their work–family boundaries before and after their teams underwent a cultural change initiative that sought to loosen workplace norms and allow employees more autonomy to decide when and where they performed their job tasks. Four distinct boundary strategies emerged from the data, with men and parents of young children having better alignment between preferred and enacted boundaries than women and those without these caregiving duties. Implications for boundary theory and research are discussed.

Objectives: We validated actigraphy for detecting sleep and wakefulness versus polysomnography (PSG).

Design: Actigraphy and polysomnography were simultaneously collected during sleep laboratory admissions. All studies involved 8.5 h time in bed, except for sleep restriction studies. Epochs (30-sec; n = 232,849) were characterized for sensitivity (actigraphy = sleep when PSG = sleep), specificity (actigraphy = wake when PSG = wake), and accuracy (total proportion correct); the amount of wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO) was also assessed. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) model included age, gender, insomnia diagnosis, and daytime/nighttime sleep timing factors.

Setting: Controlled sleep laboratory conditions.

Participants: Young and older adults, healthy or chronic primary insomniac (PI) patients, and daytime sleep of 23 night-workers (n = 77, age 35.0 ± 12.5, 30F, mean nights = 3.2).

Interventions: N/A.

Measurements and Results: Overall, sensitivity (0.965) and accuracy (0.863) were high, whereas specificity (0.329) was low; each was only slightly modified by gender, insomnia, day/night sleep timing (magnitude of change < 0.04). Increasing age slightly reduced specificity. Mean WASO/night was 49.1 min by PSG compared to 36.8 min/night by actigraphy (β = 0.81; CI = 0.42, 1.21), unbiased when WASO < 30 min/night, and overestimated when WASO > 30 min/night.

Conclusions: This validation quantifies strengths and weaknesses of actigraphy as a tool measuring sleep in clinical and population studies. Overall, the participant-specific accuracy is relatively high, and for most participants, above 80%. We validate this finding across multiple nights and a variety of adults across much of the young to midlife years, in both men and women, in those with and without insomnia, and in 77 participants. We conclude that actigraphy is overall a useful and valid means for estimating total sleep time and wakefulness after sleep onset in field and workplace studies, with some limitations in specificity.

Citation: Marino M; Li Y; Rueschman MN; Winkelman JW; Ellenbogen JM; Solet JM; Dulin H; Berkman LF; Buxton OM. Measuring sleep: accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of wrist actigraphy compared to polysomnography. SLEEP 2013;36(11):1747-1755.

Employed parents perceive a time squeeze even as trends from the 1960s show they are spending more time with their children. Work conditions (e.g., hours and schedule control) would seem to affect both parents' time with children and perceived time squeeze, but most studies rely on cross-sectional data that do not establish causality. The authors examined the effects of the introduction of a workplace flexibility initiative (Results Only Work Environment [ROWE]) on changes in mothers' and fathers' perceptions of the adequacy of their time with children and actual time spent with children (N = 225). Baseline data show the importance of work conditions for parents' sense of perceived time adequacy. Panel data show that mothers (but not fathers) in ROWE report increased schedule control and improved time adequacy, but no change in actual time spent with children, except that ROWE increases evening meals with children for mothers sharing few meals at baseline.

Cortisol is a biomarker of stress reactivity, and its diurnal pattern is an indicator of general neuroendocrine health. Despite theories conceptualizing marital dyads as dynamic systems wherein spouses are interdependent in their physiology and stress coping, little is known about the daily processes in which spouses possibly influence each other in biological stress. Nineteen heterosexual couples provided saliva samples containing cortisol 4 times a day for 4 consecutive days. We used multilevel modeling to examine whether one’s cortisol awaking response (CAR) and diurnal cortisol slope (DCS) predict those of the spouse’s on the same day and/or on the next day. We found that spouses synchronize their DCS, such that on days when one experiences faster or slower decline in diurnal cortisol than usual, the spouse also experiences faster or slower decline than usual. For CAR, positive synchrony was only observed in couples reporting high levels of marital strain and disagreement. Cross-lagged regression analysis reveals stability in diurnal cortisol pattern. A steeper cortisol slope on a particular day predicts a steeper slope on the next day within an individual, but no significant cross-lagged relation was found between spouses. Couples reporting more spousal support tend to have stronger stability in CAR. These findings provide evidence that spouses are interdependent in their diurnal cortisol patterns on a day-to-day basis, and that these daily dynamics are associated with marital relationship quality. The study contributes to our understanding of marital processes and biobehavioral health. It also contributes methodologically to the advancement of longitudinal dyadic analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)

Purpose . To estimate the cost to the workplace of implementing initiatives to reduce work-family conflict. Design . Prospective cost analysis conducted alongside a group-randomized multisite controlled experimental study, using a microcosting approach. Setting . An information technology firm. Subjects . Employees (n = 1004) and managers (n = 141) randomized to the intervention arm. Intervention . STAR (Start. Transform. Achieve. Results.) to enhance employees' control over their work time, increase supervisor support for employees to manage work and family responsibilities, and reorient the culture toward results. Measures . A taxonomy of activities related to customization, start-up, and implementation was developed. Resource use and unit costs were estimated for each activity, excluding research-related activities. Analysis . Economic costing approach (accounting and opportunity costs). Sensitivity analyses on intervention costs. Results . The total cost of STAR was $709,654, of which $389,717 was labor costs and $319,937 nonlabor costs (including $313,877 for intervention contract). The cost per employee participation in the intervention was $340 (95% confidence interval: $330-$351); $597 ($561-$634) for managers and $300 ($292-$308) for other employees (2011 prices). Conclusion . A detailed activity costing approach allows for more accurate cost estimates and identifies key drivers of cost. The key cost driver was employees' time spent on receiving the intervention. Ignoring this cost, which is usual in studies that cost workplace interventions, would seriously underestimate the cost of a workplace initiative.

How are professionals responding to the time strains brought on by the stress of their higher status jobs? Qualitative data from professionals reveal (a) general acceptance of the emerging temporal organization of professional work, including rising time demands and blurred boundaries around work/ nonwork times and places, and (b) time work as strategic responses to work intensification, overloads, and boundarylessness. We detected four time-work strategies: prioritizing time, scaling back obligations, blocking out time, and time shifting of obligations. These strategies are often more work-friendly than family-friendly, but "blocking out time" and "time shifting" suggest promising avenues for work-time policy and practice.

Recently, scholars have demonstrated the importance of Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (FSSB), defined as behaviors exhibited by supervisors that are supportive of employees' family roles, in relation to health, well-being, and organizational outcomes. FSSB was originally conceptualized as a multidimensional, superordinate construct with four subordinate dimensions assessed with 14 items: emotional support, instrumental support, role modeling behaviors, and creative work–family management. Retaining one item from each dimension, two studies were conducted to support the development and use of a new FSSB-Short Form (FSSB-SF). Study 1 draws on the original data from the FSSB validation study of retail employees to determine whether the results using the 14-item measure replicate with the shorter 4-item measure. Using data from a sample of 823 information technology professionals and their 219 supervisors, Study 2 extends the validation of the FSSB-SF to a new sample of professional workers and new outcome variables. Results from multilevel confirmatory factor analyses and multilevel regression analyses provide evidence of construct and criterion-related validity of the FSSB-SF, as it was significantly related to work–family conflict, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, control over work hours, obligation to work when sick, perceived stress, and reports of family time adequacy. We argue that it is important to develop parsimonious measures of work–family specific support to ensure supervisor support for work and family is mainstreamed into organizational research and practice.

Translational science calls on researchers to transform scientific discoveries into practical real-life applications. This chapter describes how we have been attempting to translate our research on work and family stressors to better understand and enhance the daily lives of hotel employees and their families. The Hotel Work and Well-Being Study involves the collaboration between an interdisciplinary team of investigators and hotel industry leaders, and hotel employees and their families. A major feature of this enterprise has been the application of the results from innovative methods of daily stress research to the specific concerns of hotel employees and stakeholders with regard to work–family conflict. The project has evolved through stages that exemplify important features of translational science. These stages include establishing close collaborations and dynamic feedback with important stakeholders, using the information obtained to design a study of daily stress and health specific to the hotel industry, disseminating findings to the industry stakeholders, and adapting knowledge gained in the process to evaluate a workplace program to alleviate the effects of work–family conflict on workers and their family members. This chapter uses examples of these activities to highlight multiple forms of translation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the apparent norm of partying that persists in the hotel industry despite evidence suggesting it can negatively affect both employees and organizations.

Design/methodology/approach
– Telephone surveys of 544 managers from 65 hotels were conducted. Multiple regression analyses and analyses of variance were performed to examine the extent to which differences in hotel organizational culture, hotel classification, hotel corporate organization, hotel size and manager age affect the extent to which employees spend time gathering and partying with their work colleagues outside work.

Findings
– The paper finds that in hotels with organizational culture oriented towards work and family balance, managers displayed less partying behavior. It also finds that such work and family culture may vary based on certain hotel corporate organizations, hotel location classifications, and hotel sizes, because partying behavior significantly varies based on such corporate, locational and size differences. Findings also indicate that relatively older employees spend less time than younger employees partying with work colleagues outside work.

Research limitations/implications
– Limitations include the use of self reports of hotel managers from full‐service hotels in the USA.

Practical implications
– A workplace culture oriented towards work and family balance may yield less partying behavior, which may be particularly relevant in certain hotel types and sizes, and may have positive implications for reducing turnover and health care costs.

Originality/value
– This study explores the common practice, but understudied topic of hotel employees partying with colleagues outside work. In so doing, it provides greater understanding of the phenomenon to researchers and practitioners.

Using data from a daily diary study of hourly hotel employees in the US and their children, this study examined links between youth supervision arrangements and maternal worry while at work, examining both differences between individuals and day-to-day variation within individuals. Multilevel model analyses revealed both between- and within-person effects linking youth supervision to maternal worry. Mothers’ partner status functioned as moderator, and maternal knowledge also emerged as a protective factor when youth were in self-care, highlighting a potential target for future work–family interventions, particularly those for hourly employees with limited access to family-friendly workplace policies.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the association of household-level stressors with depressive symptoms among low-wage nursing home employees. METHODS: Data were collected in 2006 and 2007 from 452 multiethnic primary and nonprimary wage earners in 4 facilities in Massachusetts. We used logistic regression to estimate the association of depressive symptoms with household financial strain, food insufficiency, and work-family spillover (preoccupation with work-related concerns while at home and vice versa). RESULTS: Depressive symptoms were significantly associated with household financial strain (odds ratio [OR] = 1.82; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03, 3.21) and food insufficiency (OR = 2.10; 95% CI = 1.10, 4.18). Among primary earners, stratified analyses showed that food insufficiency was associated with depressive symptoms (OR = 3.60; 95% CI = 1.42, 9.11) but financial strain was not. Among nonprimary wage earners, depressive symptoms correlated with financial strain (OR = 3.65; 95% CI = 1.48, 9.01) and work-family spillover (OR = 3.22; 95% CI = 1.11, 9.35). CONCLUSIONS: Household financial strain, food insufficiency, and work-family spillover are pervasive problems for working populations, but associations vary by primary wage earner status. The prevalence of food insufficiency among full-time employees was striking and might have a detrimental influence on depressive symptoms and the health of working-class families.

BACKGROUND: Nursing homes are occupational settings, with an increasing minority and immigrant workforce where several psychosocial stressors intersect. AIM: This study aimed to examine racial/ethnic differences in job strain between Black (n = 127) and White (n = 110) immigrant and American direct-care workers at nursing homes (total n = 237). METHODS: Cross-sectional study with data collected at four nursing homes in Massachusetts during 2006-2007. We contrasted Black and White workers within higher-skilled occupations such as registered nurses or licensed practical nurses (n = 82) and lower-skilled staff such as certified nursing assistants (CNAs, n = 155). RESULTS: Almost all Black workers (96%) were immigrants. After adjusting for demographic and occupational characteristics, Black employees were more likely to report job strain, compared with Whites [relative risk (RR): 2.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3 to 6.6]. Analyses stratified by occupation showed that Black CNAs were more likely to report job strain, compared with White CNAs (RR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.0 to 9.4). Black workers were also more likely to report low control (RR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.1 to 4.0). Additionally, Black workers earned $2.58 less per hour and worked 7.1 more hours per week on average, controlling for potential confounders. CONCLUSION: Black immigrant workers were 2.9 times more likely to report job strain than White workers, with greater differences among CNAs. These findings may reflect differential organizational or individual characteristics but also interpersonal or institutional racial/ethnic discrimination. Further research should consider the role of race/ethnicity in shaping patterns of occupational stress.