Compensating need satisfaction across life boundaries: A daily diary study

TY - JOUR

T1 - Compensating need satisfaction across life boundaries

T2 - A daily diary study

AU - Hewett, Rebecca

AU - Haun, Verena

AU - Demerouti, Evangelia

AU - Rodríguez Sánchez , Alma María

AU - Skakon, Janne

AU - De Gieter , Sara

PY - 2017/6

Y1 - 2017/6

N2 - Self-determination theory suggests that satisfaction of an individual's basic psychological needs (for competence, autonomy, and relatedness) is a key for well-being. This has gained empirical support in multiple life domains, but little is known about the way that need satisfaction interacts between work and home. Drawing from ideas of work–home compensation, we expect that the benefits of need satisfaction in the home domain are reduced when needs are satisfied in the work domain. We tested this hypothesis with a daily diary study involving 91 workers. Results showed that individuals particularly benefit from satisfaction of their need for competence in the home domain when it is not satisfied during the working day. No such interactions were found between the needs for autonomy or relatedness. Our study highlights that the interaction of need satisfaction across domains represents a boundary condition for the beneficial effects of need satisfaction.Practitioner points* The study examines the interplay between daily need satisfaction at work and at home and its relation to employee well-being at bedtime.* Employees particularly benefit from competence need satisfaction at home (e.g., doing a hobby which challenges them) on days when they do not get a sense of competence from their job (e.g., if the tasks are not particularly challenging, or they are underperforming).

AB - Self-determination theory suggests that satisfaction of an individual's basic psychological needs (for competence, autonomy, and relatedness) is a key for well-being. This has gained empirical support in multiple life domains, but little is known about the way that need satisfaction interacts between work and home. Drawing from ideas of work–home compensation, we expect that the benefits of need satisfaction in the home domain are reduced when needs are satisfied in the work domain. We tested this hypothesis with a daily diary study involving 91 workers. Results showed that individuals particularly benefit from satisfaction of their need for competence in the home domain when it is not satisfied during the working day. No such interactions were found between the needs for autonomy or relatedness. Our study highlights that the interaction of need satisfaction across domains represents a boundary condition for the beneficial effects of need satisfaction.Practitioner points* The study examines the interplay between daily need satisfaction at work and at home and its relation to employee well-being at bedtime.* Employees particularly benefit from competence need satisfaction at home (e.g., doing a hobby which challenges them) on days when they do not get a sense of competence from their job (e.g., if the tasks are not particularly challenging, or they are underperforming).

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - basic psychological need satisfaction

KW - work-family interface

KW - self-determination theory

U2 - 10.1111/joop.12171

DO - 10.1111/joop.12171

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0963-1798

VL - 90

SP - 270

EP - 279

JO - Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology

JF - Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology

ER -