Dual-earner couples' sharing of work-related experiences: Effects on relational and personal well-being.

Personal growth and self-expressive goals have become increasingly important in modern marriages. In dual-earner couples, sharing work-related experiences with the partner can be particularly important in promoting mutual support for each other's personal growth. The current study examined dual-earner couples' sharing of work-related experiences and how it influenced both partners' relationship satisfaction and personal well-being. A total of 102 heterosexual dual-earner couples were recruited from communities in Hong Kong. They completed a pretest survey, a 14-day daily diary study, and a follow-up survey 1 year later. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model was adopted to analyze the dyadic effects of sharing positive and negative work-related experiences on relationship satisfaction and personal well-being on the same day and 1 year later. In general, the sharing of both positive and negative work-related experiences had beneficial effects on the outcomes. Specifically, wives' sharing had more immediate effects on both partners' relational and personal well-being, whereas husbands' sharing had more long-term effects on the partner's personal well-being. The findings highlight the importance of work-related sharing in dual-earner couples. Practical implications are discussed.

Intra- and Inter-Individual Associations of Family-to-Work Conflict, Psychological Distress, and Job Satisfaction: Gender Differences in Dual-Earner Parents during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the work-family interface dynamics in some families. For couples who kept earning a double income during the pandemic, their family demands may entail a loss of psychological resources that affect the work domain. This study explored the intra-individual and inter-individual (crossover) direct and indirect effects of family-to-work conflict (FtoWC) on psychological distress and job satisfaction in a non-probabilistic sample of 860 different-sex dual-earner parents with adolescent children from Temuco and Rancagua, Chile. Mothers and fathers answered an online questionnaire measuring FtoWC, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, and the Overall Job Satisfaction Scale. The data were analyzed using the actor-partner interdependence model with structural equation modeling. Results showed that a higher FtoWC is linked to greater psychological distress and lower job satisfaction in both parents. In contrast, psychological distress is directly linked to lower job satisfaction in fathers. In both fathers and mothers, they and their partners' FtoWC were indirectly linked to lower job satisfaction via the fathers' psychological distress. These findings indicate the need for gender-sensitive social and labor policies aimed at reducing the conflict between family and work to increase job satisfaction in both parents and reduce psychological distress, particularly in fathers.

Changes in food habits and food-related satisfaction before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in dual-earner families with adolescents

Introduction: Food habits have been associated with positive outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Family members may share protective factors, but each member may also respond differently to the pandemic. Aim: To examine food habits in different-sex dual-earner parents with adolescents, comparing reports from late 2019 before the pandemic (T1) and mid- 2020 during the pandemic (T2) in Temuco, Chile. Method: A sample of 193 families composed of mother, father, and one adolescent aged 10 to 15 responded to a questionnaire at T1 and T2. Non-parametric tests were used to compare family food-related habits and the satisfaction with food-related life of each family member at T1 and T2. An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model was conducted to explore relations between T1 and T2 variables and between family members. Results: Frequency of family meals increased during the pandemic, and mothers increased their cooking hours. All family members improved their diet quality during the pandemic. Perceived family meal atmosphere and satisfaction with food-related life did not change. T1 food habits were not associated with T2 satisfaction with food-related life. Conclusion: These families changed their food-related habits during the pandemic, but their food-related life assessment was similar before and during the pandemic.

Introducción: Las prácticas alimentarias se han asociado con mayor bienestar durante la pandemia por COVID-19. Aunque en una familia se comparten condiciones de vida, cada miembro puede responder de modo diferente a la pandemia. Objetivo: Examinar las prácticas alimentarias en parejas con doble ingreso e hijos adolescentes, comparando reportes antes de la pandemia (finales de 2019, T1) y durante la pandemia (mediados de 2020, T2) en Temuco, Chile. Método: 193 familias compuestas por madre, padre y un hijo adolescente de 10 a 15 años respondieron un cuestionario en T1 y T2. Se utilizaron pruebas no-paramétricas para comparar hábitos alimentarios y satisfacción con la alimentación para cada miembro de la familia en T1 y T2. Se exploraron las relaciones entre variables en T1 y T2, y entre miembros de la familia usando el modelo de interdependencia de actor-compañero. Resultados: La frecuencia de las comidas familiares y las horas que la madre dedicó diariamente a cocinar aumentaron durante la pandemia. Los tres miembros de la familia mejoraron la calidad de su dieta durante la pandemia. La atmósfera percibida de comidas familiares y la satisfacción con la alimentación no cambiaron. Los hábitos alimentarios del T1 no incidieron en la satisfacción con la alimentación en T2. Conclusión: Los hábitos alimenticios de estas familias cambiaron durante la pandemia, pero la evaluación de su vida alimentaria fue similar antes y durante la pandemia.

Effects of work-family life support program on the work-family interface and mental health among Japanese dual-earner couples with a preschool child: A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the effectiveness of a newly developed work-family life support program on the work-family interface and mental health indicators among Japanese dual-earner couples with a preschool child(/ren) using a randomized controlled trial with a waitlist. METHODS: Participants who met the inclusion criteria were randomly allocated to the intervention or the control groups (n = 79 and n = 85, respectively). The program comprised two 3-h sessions with a 1-month interval between them and provided comprehensive skills by including self-management, couple management, and parenting management components. The program sessions were conducted on weekends in a community center room with 3-10 participants. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, 1-month, and 3-month follow-ups. Primary outcomes were work-family balance self-efficacy (WFBSE), four types of work-family spillovers (i.e., work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, work-to-family facilitation, and family-to-work facilitation), psychological distress, and work engagement reported by the participants. RESULTS: The program had significantly pooled intervention effects on WFBSE (P = .031) and psychological distress (P = .014). The effect sizes (Cohen's d) were small, with values of 0.22 at the 1-month follow-up and 0.24 at the 3-month follow-up for WFBSE, and -0.36 at the 3-month follow-up for psychological distress. However, the program had nonsignificant pooled effects on four types of work-family spillovers and work engagement. CONCLUSIONS: The program effectively increased WFBSE and decreased psychological distress among Japanese dual-earner couples with a preschool child(/ren).

Dyadic effects of work overcommitment on depression in dual-earner couples: based on the actor-partner interdependence model.

In this study, we aimed to examine the actor and partner effects of overcommitment on depression in dual-earner couples and the potential mediating role of emotional exhaustion at the actor and partner levels. With a cross-sectional design, 172 dual-earner couples in Chongqing, China, completed the measures of overcommitment, emotional exhaustion, and depression. The results showed that (a) overcommitment has a significant actor effect on depression for the husband and wife, and there were gender differences in the partner effects; that is, a wife's overcommitment has a significant partner effect on the husband's depression, while a husband's partner effect was not significant; (b) emotional exhaustion mediated the effects of overcommitment on depression for both husbands and wives at the actor level, while at the partner level, only a wife's exhaustion mediated the partner effect of a wife's overcommitment on a husband's depression. Focusing on couples' interdependence, these results enriched the understanding of the relationship between overcommitment and depression within dual-earner couples.

Time pressure, work-related spousal support seeking, and relationship satisfaction: Spillover and crossover effects among dual-earner couples.

The present study examined how time pressure at work is transmitted to the home domain and how it affects individuals' (spillover) as well as their partners' relationship satisfaction (crossover). We examined the role of work-related spousal support seeking and proposed that it serves as a mediator of the spillover as well as the crossover process. We further explored whether the proposed spillover-crossover process is gender-contingent. Using a sample of 308 dual-earner couples, we found support for a positive link between time pressure at work and spousal support seeking. As hypothesised, spousal support seeking served also as a crossover mechanism. However, distinct spillover and crossover processes were found for men and women. These findings not only point to a new spillover and crossover mechanism but also highlight gender-specific patterns in the role of support seeking. As this coping strategy is feasible when job stressors are high, it should be considered a part of stress management trainings and organizational practices.

Migration of dual-earner couples: a subjective wellbeing approach.

We model push factors that determine the domestic migration decisions for couples, with emphasis on dual-earner different-sex couples. Unlike many prior studies that concentrate on labour market determinants of migration, we place the subjective well-being (SWB) reported by each partner at centre stage. We test whether migration determinants differ depending on whether the female is the main breadwinner in a dual-earner couple. We also test if determinants differ when either the female or the male is the sole earner within a couple. The evidence shows that a couple is more likely to migrate if she reports low SWB in the year prior to migration, with the strength of this effect varying depending on the earnings status of each partner prior to migration. Male SWB does not have the same impact on the migration choice although we find some evidence that pre-migration male wages impact the migration decision.

Job satisfaction as a mediator between family-to-work conflict and satisfaction with family life: a dyadic analysis in dual-earner parents.

Family-to-work conflict has received less attention in the literature compared to work-to-family conflict. This gap in knowledge is more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the documented increase in family responsibilities in detriment of work performance, particularly for women. Job satisfaction has been identified as a mediator between the family and work domains for the individual, but these family-to-work dynamics remain unexplored at a dyadic level during the pandemic. Therefore, this study tested the relationship between family-to-work conflict and job and family satisfaction, and the mediating role of job satisfaction between family-to-work conflict and family satisfaction, in dual-earner parents. A non-probability sample of 430 dual-earner parents with adolescent children were recruited in Rancagua, Chile. Mothers and fathers answered an online questionnaire with a measure of family-to-work conflict, the Job Satisfaction Scale and Satisfaction with Family Life Scale. Data was analysed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model with structural equation modelling. Results showed that, for individuals, a higher family-to-work conflict is linked to lower satisfaction with both their job and family life, and these two types of satisfaction are positively associated with one another. Both parents experience a double negative effect on their family life satisfaction, due to their own, and to their partner's family-to-work conflict; however, for fathers, this effect from their partner occurs via their own job satisfaction. Limitations and implications of this study are discussed, indicating the need of family-oriented workplace policies with a gender perspective to increase satisfaction in the family domain for workers and their families.

The association between non-parental childcare intensity and parental mental health across Europe.

BACKGROUND: Young children are spending an increasing amount of time in non-parental childcare. Despite this trend, few studies have examined how the intensity of non-parental childcare associates with mental health in parents, particularly taking the institutional context concerning childcare into account. METHODS: Data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions EU-SILC (2013) were used to develop a multi-level linear regression model. The sample was restricted to parents in dual-earner couples and with at least one child below the age of three (N=6709). Mental health was assessed using the Mental Health Inventory-5. RESULTS: Highest levels of mental health were found in parents who use a moderate level of non-parental childcare, while full-time childcare was associated with lower levels of mental health. Working parents reported better mental health in countries where spending on formal childcare was higher, or where using formal childcare use was more widespread for this age group. CONCLUSIONS: While this study does not allow to establish a causal relationship between the researched indicators, it does indicate that mental-health problems are not randomly distributed among parents but tend to cluster more densely within parents who use higher intensities of childcare and in countries with less supportive childcare policies. Research that ignores social contexts might therefore be limited in terms of generalisation.

Contributions of Work-to-Family Enrichment to Parental Food Monitoring and Satisfaction with Food-Related Life during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Dual-Earner Parents and Their Adolescent Children.

Evidence shows that numerous family-related variables influence parents' use of different food parenting practices (FPP), but less is known about the influence of parents' work-related variables on their use of FPP, and their own and their children's outcomes in the food domain. To fill this gap, the present study explored intra-individual and inter-individual effects between work-to-family enrichment (WtoFE), parents' monitoring practices, the adolescent's perception of their parents' monitoring practices, and the three family members' satisfaction with food-related life (SWFoL), in different-sex dual-earner parents with adolescent children. The mediating role of monitoring between WtoFE and SWFoL was also tested. A sample of 430 different-sex dual-earner parents and one of their adolescent children (average age 13.0 years, 53.7% female) were recruited in Rancagua, Chile, during March and June 2020. The three family members answered the monitoring dimension of the Compressive Feeding Practices Questionnaire and the Satisfaction with Food-Related Life Scale. Parents answered a measure of WtoFE based on the Work−Home Interaction Survey. Analyses were conducted using the Actor−Partner Interdependence Model and structural equation modelling. Results showed a positive association between WtoFE and SWFoL, directly (p < 0.001) and through monitoring in fathers (95% confidence interval [0.010, 0.097], actor effect). The father's (p = 0.042) and mother's (p = 0.006) WtoFE was positively associated with their adolescent's SWFoL (partner effects). The father's (p = 0.002) and mother's (p = 0.036) WtoFE were positively associated with their own monitoring (actor effect), while only the father's WtoFE (p = 0.014) was positively associated with the adolescent's perception of their parents' monitoring (partner effect). The father's (p = 0.018) and mother's (p = 0.003) monitoring, as well as the adolescents' perception of their parents' monitoring (p = 0.033), were positively associated with their own SWFoL (actor effects), while the mother's monitoring (p = 0.043) was also associated with the father's SWFoL (partner effects). Findings suggest that both parents' WtoFE improved their monitoring practices, which, in turn, improved their own SWFoL and their adolescent child's SWFoL. Policymakers and organizations must aim to promote the WtoFE of working parents.

Spillover and crossover effects of working time demands on work-life balance satisfaction among dual-earner couples: the mediating role of work-family conflict.

To examine the spillover and crossover effects of working time demands (specifically, work contact in leisure time, evening work, and long work hours) on satisfaction with work-life balance among dual-earner couples, path analyses were conducted using data from the 2017/2018 German Family Panel (pairfam; N = 1,053 dual-earner couples). Working time demands were measured based on (a) answering work emails/phone calls in leisure time, (b) evening work, and (c) weekly work hours. High working time demands impaired workers' work-life balance satisfaction due to higher levels of work-life conflict. They indirectly affected partners' work-life balance satisfaction through two pathways: (a) workers' and partners' work-life conflict and (b) workers' work-life conflict and work-life balance satisfaction. These findings indicate that high working time demands negatively impact the work-life balance satisfaction of workers and their partners because of work-life conflict experienced either by the workers only or by both partners. In an increasingly digitalized labor market, measures are needed to reduce working time demands-and thus work-life conflict-for workers and their partners.

The career identity of young working fathers in dual-earner relationships: A family-relatedness of work decisions perspective.

Introduction: Taking on an identity lens, we explore how young working fathers (in the establishment phase of their careers), experience their careers in the context of their changing family roles (shifting ideologies of fathering). We propose that working fathers' work experiences, work decisions, and career identity are the product of social and cognitive processes in a dual-earner relationship. Materials and methods: This qualitative study was conducted using an interpretive, and qualitative survey. The data was collected amongst a purposive sample of 45 young South African, well-educated, working fathers, using semi-structured interviews, until data saturation was reached. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: The three main themes extracted from the data were: "the meaning of family identity," "the impact of family identity on career identity," and finally, "the types of negotiation scenarios" used by working fathers in dual-earner relationships, and how they balance the work-family challenges they face. Conclusion: This study provides strong empirical support for the family-relatedness of the work decisions perspective, as we highlight the roles of working fathers as indicative of their family identities, and how these then influence their career decisions. Furthermore, our findings shed light on how dual-earner couples negotiate their work-family needs to foster positive work-family outcomes.

Parents' Modeling During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Influences on Family Members' Diet Quality and Satisfaction With-Food-Related Life in Dual-Earner Parents With Adolescent Children.

Reciprocal family influences in the food domain have been little explored, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. To fill in this gap, this study explored actor and partner effects between parents' food modeling and parents' and their adolescent children's diet quality and satisfaction with food-related life (SWFoL); and the mediating role of diet quality between modeling and SWFoL. This study used a cross-sectional design. A sample of 430 different-sex dual-earner parents and one adolescent child were recruited in Rancagua, Chile, between March and June 2020. Parents answered the modeling dimension of the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire. Parents and adolescents answered the Adapted Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) and the SWFoL Scale. Analyses were conducted using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and structural equation modeling. Results showed that one parent's modeling enhanced diet quality for themselves, their partner, and the adolescents. Parents' modeling was associated with their own SWFoL, directly and via their own diet quality. There were positive associations between mothers' modeling and adolescents' SWFoL; between mothers' diet quality and fathers' SWFoL; and between mothers' modeling and fathers' SWFoL via the fathers' diet quality. Parents' modeling can improve the three family members' diet quality, while mothers' modeling and diet quality showed to improve fathers' and adolescents' SWFoL.

Work centrality and recovery experiences in dual-earner couples: Test of an actor-partner interdependence model.

Work centrality refers to individual beliefs regarding the degree of importance that work plays in their lives. To date, very little is known about the relationship between employees' work centrality and their work recovery. According to the resource allocation theory and spillover-crossover model, we aim to investigate the effects of work centrality on recovery experiences and explore the mediating role of spousal recovery support. Data from 177 matched dual-earner couples (N = 354) in China were analysed using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM). Results showed that working couples who reported higher work centrality experienced lower levels of psychological detachment and relaxation. The wives' work centrality showed a direct and negative influence on the husbands' relaxation; however, no direct partner effects were found for husbands. Moreover, the wives' work centrality was related to the husbands' relaxation, mastery, and control experience through the husbands' perceived recovery support. Our results also suggested that the wives' perceived recovery support mediated the effects of the husbands' work centrality on the wives' psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery, and control experience when they had two children. Based on these findings, theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Family-to-work enrichment associations between family meal atmosphere and job satisfaction in dual-earner parents.

Research on factors related to job satisfaction in parents has mainly focused on work-related variables, paying less attention to family events that may provide parents with resources to invest in the work domain. To contribute to this body of knowledge, this study examined the associations between family meal atmosphere and job satisfaction in dual-earner parents with adolescent children, and tested the mediating role of family-to-work enrichment (FtoWE) between family meal atmosphere and job satisfaction. Questionnaires were administered to 473 different-gender dual-earner parents in Temuco, Chile. Participants answered the Project-EAT Atmosphere of family meals scale, three items that measure FWE from the Work-Home Interaction Survey, and the Overall Job Satisfaction Scale. Analyses were conducted using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and structural equation modelling. A positive association was found from family meal atmosphere to job satisfaction, directly and via FtoWE in fathers, and only via FtoWE in mothers. No associations were found for these variables between parents, as, one parent's perception of a pleasant family meal atmosphere is positively associated with their own FtoWE and job satisfaction, but not with those of the other parent. These findings suggest policymakers and organizations to account for workers' experiences in the family domain to improve satisfaction in the work domain.

Diet quality during the COVID-19 pandemic: Effects of workplace support for families and work-to-family enrichment in dual-earner parents with adolescent children.

Organizational support goes beyond the work domain, supporting workers' family role and thus generating resources that lead to work-to-family enrichment. Workers may invest these resources in improving their, and their family's, diet quality. However, data on the link between work resources, enrichment and diet quality during the COVID-19 pandemic is still emerging. The present study contributes to this literature by exploring the actor and partner effects between perceived workplace support for families, work-to-family enrichment, and diet quality in different-sex dual-earner parents with adolescent children; the potential mediating role of work-to-family enrichment between perceived workplace support for families and diet quality was also explored. A sample of 430 different-sex dual-earner parents and one of their adolescent children (mean age 13.0 years, 53.7% female) were recruited in Rancagua, Chile, during March and June 2020. Mothers and fathers responded to a measure of work-to-family enrichment, and a measure of Perceived Workplace Support for Families. The three family members answered the Adapted Healthy Eating Index. Analyses were conducted using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and structural equation modelling. Results showed that fathers' perceived workplace support for families positively and directly affected their own diet quality (actor effect) as well as the mothers' diet quality (partner effect), while indirectly positively affected the adolescents' diet quality via work-to-family enrichment (partner effect). Mothers' perceived workplace support for families enhanced their own work-to-family enrichment, which in turn improved their diet quality (actor effects). These results suggest that resources that both parents acquire through family-friendly workplace policies have positive effects on the three family members' diet quality by different mechanisms. Policymakers and organizations must aim to promote family-friendly workplace policies, particularly during ongoing crisis such as a pandemic.

Does the Pandemic Affect Inequality Within Families?: The Case of Dual-Earner Couples in Israel.

This article exploits the unique consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak to examine whether time constraints drive the unequal division of unpaid labor between dual-earner couples in Israel. Using the first wave of longitudinal household data that was collected in Israel since the outbreak of the pandemic, we focused on 325 dual-earner couples who stayed employed during the first lockdown. By employing OLS regressions, we examined the association between changes in employment hours and changes in unpaid labor for partnered men and women. Strong evidence was found for a gendered translation of the time constraints mechanism: A decrease in hours of paid work is related to an increase in hours of care for children among men and women, but time devoted to housework increased only among women. We conclude that time constraints that resulted from the dramatic effect of the first lockdown on paid and unpaid work in Israel did not significantly change the gender division of unpaid housework but did change the distribution of childcare. The theoretical implications of this conclusion for future research are discussed.

No Room of her Own: Married Couples' Negotiation of Workspace at Home During COVID-19.

The current study examined the right to a professional workspace and separation between private and public within the home as an arena of gendered negotiation and struggle between spouses working from home during the COVID-19 crisis. Using a qualitative, inductive approach based on grounded theory, we conducted in-depth interviews with fifteen professional couples in Israel about their experiences with working from home and the division of labor and space between spouses. Our analysis revealed three key issues related to these experiences: the division of physical workspace between the spouses, the division of work time (compared to home time), and bodily-spatial aspects of the infiltration of workspace into home through the Zoom camera. The patterns described here suggest that the gendered power relations between spouses working from home are reproduced through an unequal negotiation of space and time in the home, so that in practice, men's work was prioritized in spatio-temporal terms, whereas women's workspace and time was more fragmented and dispersed throughout the home and day. These findings illuminate women's right to workspace in the home as an issue of gender equality that has been amplified by the current global pandemic, and how gendered divisions of space and time serve to reproduce the gender order.

Dual-earner parent couples' work and care during COVID-19.

COVID-19 and the associated lockdowns meant many working parents were faced with doing paid work and family care at home simultaneously. To investigate how they managed, this article draws a subsample of parents in dual-earner couples (n = 1536) from a national survey of 2722 Australian men and women conducted during lockdown in May 2020. It asked how much time respondents spent in paid and unpaid labour, including both active and supervisory care, and about their satisfaction with work-family balance and how their partner shared the load. Overall, paid work time was slightly lower and unpaid work time was very much higher during lockdown than before it. These time changes were most for mothers, but gender gaps somewhat narrowed because the relative increase in childcare was higher for fathers. More mothers than fathers were dissatisfied with their work-family balance and partner's share before COVID-19. For some the pandemic improved satisfaction levels, but for most they became worse. Again, some gender differences narrowed, mainly because more fathers also felt negatively during lockdown than they had before.

Relationships Between Work-to-Family Conflict and the Food Domain for Dual-Earner Parents With Adolescent Children.

The impact of work-to-family conflict (WtoFC) can extend beyond family and work, and to other domains that contribute to well-being, such as the food domain. This study examined associations between WtoFC, perception of atmosphere of family meals (AFM), and satisfaction with food-related life (SWFoL) in dual-earner parents with adolescent children, and tested the mediating role of AFM between WtoFC and SWFoL. Questionnaires were administered to 473 different-sex dual-earner parents and one of their adolescent children (mean age 12.5 years, 51.4% male) in Temuco, Chile. Parents responded to a measure of work-to-family conflict; the three family members answered the Project-EAT Atmosphere of family meals scale, and the Satisfaction with Food-related Life Scale. Analyses were conducted using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and structural equation modeling. Results showed a negative association from WtoFC to SWFoL in both parents, while a more positive perception of atmosphere of family meals was linked to higher SWFoL in the three family members. Moreover, WtoFC was negatively linked to SWFoL in parents, while only mothers' WtoFC had a negative association with their adolescent children's SWFoL. Policymakers and organizations can contribute to workers' and their families' food-related well-being by fostering policies and measures to reduce WtoFC.