Predicting interference between work and home : A comparison of dispositional and situational antecedents

Purpose – To examine the relative power of four dispositional, self‐evaluation traits (adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, generalized self‐efficacy, and general self‐esteem) versus three situational factors (organizational time demands, potential negative career consequences, and managerial support) in predicting work interference with home (WIH) and home interference with work (HIW). Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted among 223 UK public sector employees. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis tested main effects of personality and situational characteristics on WIH and HIW. A usefulness analysis determined whether dispositional or situational variables had greater predictive power for the two dependent variables. Findings – Significant, negative main effects of adaptive perfectionism on HIW, and of self‐esteem on WIH. Positive relationships were found between maladaptive perfectionism and both WIH and HIW. Situational factors were also significant predictors of WHI: organizational time demands were positively associated with WIH, while managerial support had a negative relationship with WIH. Dispositional variables accounted for 15 per cent of variance in HIW, but only 4 per cent of variance in WIH. Research limitations/implications – The cross‐sectional design of the study does not permit firm conclusions regarding causality, and the results may be influenced by common method bias. Practical implications – Raising awareness of the role of personality in work‐home interference may assist managers in providing more effective support to employees. The danger exists that policy‐makers will dismiss HIW as an individual responsibility due to the influence of dispositional factors. Originality/value – This study indicates that self‐evaluation personality characteristics play a key role in predicting HIW, and are more important than traditionally investigated factors associated with the home and workplace environments.