Crafting work-nonwork balance involving life domain boundaries: Development and validation of a novel scale across five countries

Abstract

Ongoing developments, such as digitalization, increased the interference of the work and nonwork life domains, urging many to continuously manage engagement in respective domains. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent home-office regulations further boosted the need for employees to find a good work-nonwork balance, thereby optimizing their health and well-being. Consequently, proactive individual-level crafting strategies for balancing work with other relevant life domains were becoming increasingly important. However, these strategies received insufficient attention in previous research despite their potential relevance for satisfying psychological needs, such as psychological detachment. We addressed this research gap by introducing a new scale measuring crafting for a work-nonwork balance and examining its relevance in job-and life satisfaction, work engagement, subjective vitality, family role and job performance, boundary management and self-rated work-nonwork balance. The Work-Nonwork Balance Crafting Scale was validated in five countries (Austria, Finland, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland), encompassing data from a heterogeneous sample of more than 4,200 employees. In study 1, exploratory factor analysis revealed a twofactorial scale structure. Confirmatory factor analysis, test for measurement invariance, and convergent validity were provided in study 2. Replication of confirmatory factor analysis, incremental and criterion validity of the Work-Nonwork Balance Crafting Scale for job and life satisfaction were assessed in study 3. Study 4 displayed criterion validity, test-retest reliability, testing measurement invariance, and applicability of the scale across work cultures. Finally, study 5 delivered evidence for the Work-Nonwork Balance Crafting Scale in predicting work-nonwork balance. The novel Work-Nonwork Balance Crafting Scale captured crafting for the challenging balance between work and nonwork and performed well across several different working cultures in increasingly digitalized societies. Both researchers and practitioners may use this tool to assess crafting efforts to balance both life TYPE

A new perspective on balancing life domains: work–nonwork balance crafting

“…Work–nonwork balance crafting (WNBC) [ 11 , 15 ] refers to an individual’s unofficial techniques and activities to shape work–nonwork balance by considering their life domain boundary preferences. Considering the increasing importance of life domain boundaries for achieving work–nonwork balance [ 16 ], WNBC involves adjusting the increasingly permeable and flexible boundary between life domains [ 7 ].…”

“…Drawing from job demands-resources theory, WNBC may be particularly relevant as an intervening link between demands and resources in the work and nonwork domains, on the one hand, and employee well-being outcomes, on the other hand [ 17 ]. We follow the recent and more inclusive shift towards using the term work-nonwork balance instead of work-life balance [ 11 , 18 , 19 ]. It recognizes that individuals engage in various roles and activities beyond their professional, family or care roles.…”

“…As a result, WNBC builds on the pioneering qualitative study by Sturges [ 15 ] and can be defined as ‘the unofficial techniques and activities individuals use to shape their own work–nonwork balance under consideration of their boundary preferences and their favoured combination of work and nonwork roles’ [ 11 ].…”

Adaptação transcultural e validação da escala “indicadora de trabalho-vida” (work-life indicator) para uso no Brasil: Estudo Longitudinal de Saúde do Adulto (ELSA-Brasil)

“…Esses autores 8 apontam que jornadas de trabalho excessivas e fora do horário definido, invadindo a vida pessoal, estão relacionadas com ritmos biológicos e sociais de sono, recuperação e interação social, afetando, portanto, a saúde e o bem-estar. Embora a ausência de limites entre a vida pessoal e o trabalho seja estudada em diversos aspectos, mostrando consequências na saúde dos(as) trabalhadores(as), a maioria dos estudos nacionais e internacionais aborda o tema na visão das áreas de psicologia organizacional 7,10,11 e do impacto na força de trabalho [12][13][14] . No Brasil, o tema também vem sendo explorado, principalmente, por estudos nas áreas organizacionais e de gestão de pessoas [15][16][17] .…”

Transcultural adaptation and validation of the work-life indicator scale for use in Brazil: Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)

“…Although the absence of boundaries between personal life and work has been studied from various different approaches, showing the effects on workers' health, most Brazilian and international studies have approached the issue from the standpoint of organizational psychology 7,10,11 and impact on the workforce [12][13][14] . In Brazil, the issue is also being explored mainly by studies in the organizational and people management fields [15][16][17] .…”