Developing and Testing a Model of Dynamic Changes in Work-School Conflict and Workplace Deviance Over Time.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Organizational Behavior
• Higher Education Studies

Background:

• Work-school conflict is a significant stressor for college students balancing employment and academics.
• Existing research often overlooks the dynamic, intra-individual nature of work-school conflict, focusing instead on static, between-person effects.
• Understanding temporal changes in work-school conflict is crucial for addressing its consequences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the intra-individual, change-to-change effects of work-school conflict on negative emotions and workplace deviance.
• To examine the moderating roles of core self-evaluation, time management skills, and financial well-being on the relationship between work-school conflict, emotions, and deviance.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal weekly diary study was conducted with college students.
• Latent change score modeling was employed to analyze intra-individual changes over time.
• The study examined the mediating role of negative emotions and moderating effects of individual difference variables.

Main Results:

• Increases in work-school conflict significantly predicted increases in negative emotions, which in turn predicted increases in workplace deviance.
• Time management skills and financial well-being were found to weaken the indirect effect of work-school conflict on workplace deviance.
• Core self-evaluation did not moderate the indirect relationship as hypothesized.

Conclusions:

• Work-school conflict dynamically influences students' emotional states and workplace behavior.
• Interventions aimed at improving time management and financial well-being may help college students cope with work-school conflict.
• Further research is needed to explore the complex interplay of individual differences and dynamic stressors in academic and work settings.