According to a new study (Hahn & Dormann, 2013) your ability to not think about work during leisure time is related to the following conditions: (1) your romantic partner’s ability to keep their work life at work and (2) your romantic partner’s ability to not think about work during leisure time. With kids, though, the strength of this relationship is much weaker. Even if your romantic partner is militaristic about keeping work at the office and playing hard during time off, the presence of kids weakens the relationship to your own ability to maintain work-life boundaries. Lastly, the authors also found that the ability to enjoy leisure without thinking about the office predicts life satisfaction.
For this study, the sample consisted of 114 heterosexual dual-earner couples, and both partners responded to surveys on detachment, work-home segmentation, and life satisfaction. Sample items such as “During leisure time, I don’t think about work at all” assessed detachment; items such as “I prefer to keep work life at work” assessed work-home segmentation; and items such as “I am satisfied with my life” assessed life satisfaction.
Hahn, V. C., Binnewies, C., & Dormann, C. (2014). The role of partners and children for employees’ daily recovery. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 85(1), 39–48.
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