Disentangling the causal relationships between work-home interference and employee health.
OBJECTIVE
The present study was designed to investigate the causal relationships between (time- and strain-based) work-home interference and employee health. The effort-recovery theory provided the theoretical basis for this study.


METHODS
Two-phase longitudinal data (with a 1-year time lag) were gathered from 730 Dutch police officers to test the following hypotheses with structural equation modeling: (i) work-home interference predicts health deterioration, (ii) health complaints precede increased levels of such interference, and (iii) both processes operate. The relationship between stable and changed levels of work-home interference across time and their relationships with the course of health were tested with a group-by-time analysis of variance. Four subgroups were created that differed in starting point and the development of work-home interference across time.


RESULTS
The normal causal model, in which strain-based (but not time-based) work-home interference was longitudinally related to increased health complaints 1 year later, fit the data well and significantly better than the reversed causal model. Although the reciprocal model also provided a good fit, it was less parsimonious than the normal causal model. In addition, both an increment in (strain-based) work-home interference across time and a long-lasting experience of high (strain-based) work-home interference were associated with a deterioration in health.


CONCLUSIONS
It was concluded that (strain-based) work-home interference acts as a precursor of health impairment and that different patterns of (strain-based) work-home interference across time are related to different health courses. Particularly long-term experience of (strain-based) work-home interference seems responsible for an accumulation of health complaints.
van Hooff
Madelon L M
ML
Radboud University Nijmegen, Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands. m.vanhooff@psych.ru.nl
Geurts
Sabine A E
SA
Taris
Toon W
TW
Kompier
Michiel A J
MA
Dikkers
Josje S E
JS
Houtman
Irene L D
IL
van den Heuvel
Floor M M
FM
D000328:Adult; D015984:Causality; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D016272:Occupational Health; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology; D014937:Work / Q000523:psychology*