Just how miserable is work? A meta-analysis comparing work and non-work affect

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Organizational Behavior
• Affective Science

Background:

• The emotional experience of work versus non-work remains unclear, despite extensive time spent working.
• Existing research presents conflicting views, with some suggesting work is aversive (work stress) and others portraying it as beneficial or an escape.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively review studies assessing affect on working days versus non-working days.
• To clarify the subjective emotional experience associated with work compared to non-work domains.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a meta-analysis of 59 primary studies that measured affect on working days.
• Analyzed data using within-day comparisons of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA).
• Performed moderator analyses to investigate factors influencing affect, including measurement methods (real-time vs. Day Reconstruction Method).

Main Results:

• No significant difference in positive affect (PA) was found between work and non-work domains.
• Negative affect (NA) was slightly higher during work (0.22 SD), comparable to differences between leisure activities.
• Real-time measurements (e.g., Experience Sampling Methodology) indicated higher PA and lower NA at work compared to recall methods (Day Reconstruction Method).
• Age and time of day for non-work measurements moderated PA levels.

Conclusions:

• The overall emotional experience of work is not significantly different in terms of positive affect compared to non-work.
• Negative affect is marginally higher at work, but the difference is small.
• Measurement methodology significantly influences the perceived emotional experience of work, with real-time methods yielding a more positive outlook.