Psychology Ph.D. Dissertations

Title

Honey, I'm Home: The Provision and Perception of Work Recovery Support in Working Dyads

Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Psychology/Industrial-Organizational

First Advisor

Russell Matthews (Advisor)

Second Advisor

Robert Satterlee (Committee Member)

Third Advisor

Steve Jex (Committee Member)

Fourth Advisor

Carolyn Tompsett (Committee Member)

Abstract

Given the psychobiological necessity and work-related benefits associated with achieving recovery, researchers must explore the factors that enable or prohibit employee engagement in recovery enhancing behaviors. Using a resource-based theoretical framework, I considered how dual-earning couples can enhance each other's work recovery. Specifically, I examined how the adequacy of recovery support received from one's partner may be particularly important in improving recovery behaviors, and as result, reducing work-related withdrawal. In addition, I used a fully reciprocal design to explore the possibility that mindfulness, as a personal characteristic, has the potential to influence the provision of recovery support, and the extent that such support becomes “silent” or “lost in translation” between partners. For both men and women, the results support the argument that spousal recovery support is a critical interpersonal resource and that the adequacy of support may be even more important than the offering of support in predicting recovery behaviors. Further, at least for men, mindfulness may be an important factor in improving their provision and detection of recovery support. Interestingly though, spousal recovery support and recovery behaviors were not linked to work withdrawal in the hypothesized manner; higher levels of relaxation in women and higher levels of psychological detachment in men were associated with more psychological work withdrawal. However, trait mindfulness was found to be strongly negatively associated with psychological work withdrawal.

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