Team-level flexibility, work-home spillover, and health behavior
Phyllis Moen1, Wen Fan, Erin L Kelly
1Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. phylmoen@umn.edu
Social Science & Medicine (1982)
|March 23, 2013
Summary
Implementing a Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) initiative reduced negative work-home spillover and improved employee health behaviors, including smoking cessation and healthier meal habits.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Psychology
- Occupational Health
- Work-Life Balance Studies
Background:
- Work-home spillover significantly impacts employee well-being and health behaviors.
- Team-level flexibility initiatives offer potential solutions for managing spillover.
- Understanding distinct spillover patterns is crucial for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of a Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) initiative.
- To assess ROWE's effects on work-home spillover and employee health behaviors.
- To identify mediating factors and subgroup effects of the ROWE initiative.
Main Methods:
- Two waves of survey data collected six months apart from employees at a large U.S. corporation.
- Cluster analysis to identify baseline work-home spillover constellations.
- Multilevel analyses to examine the effects of the ROWE initiative on spillover and health behaviors.
Main Results:
- ROWE significantly reduced both individual- and team-level negative work-home spillover.
- ROWE promoted healthier behaviors: increased smoking cessation, decreased smoking frequency, and improved mealtime adequacy.
- ROWE showed positive trends in reducing excessive drinking, improving sleep, and increasing exercise frequency.
Conclusions:
- Team-level flexibility initiatives like ROWE can effectively mitigate negative work-home spillover.
- ROWE positively influences employee health behaviors, with some effects mediated by reduced spillover.
- ROWE demonstrated particular benefits for specific employee groups, such as singles and those with low baseline spillover.
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