THE MODERATING ROLE OF ATTACHMENT STYLE IN THE RELATINSHIPS BETWEEN WORK-HOME INTERFERENCE, RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION, AND JOB SATISFACTION A thesis submitted to the Kent State University Honors College In partial fulfillment of the requirements

Work-home interference is increasing due to challenges in balancing the demands of home and work environments. Yet, certain individuals are more susceptible to interference than others. We predicted that individuals’ attachment styles would influence the effects of work-home interference on relationship and job satisfaction. Participants (N = 150) completed online questionnaires measuring relationship satisfaction, job satisfaction, perceived work-home interference, and attachment styles. We examined the associations between work-homeinterference and relationship/job satisfaction, and attachment styles asmoderators of these associations using regression analysis. Results indicated significant negative main effects of attachment avoidance on relationship satisfaction, and work-to-home interference on job satisfaction. Contrary to our predictions, attachment styles did not moderate the effects of work-home interference on job and relationship satisfaction. Although results indicate associations between attachment styles and relationship satisfaction, as well as work-home interference and job satisfaction, it is unclear how individual differences influence the effects of work-home interference. ATTACHMENT STYLES AND WORK-HOME INTERFERENCE 2 The Moderating Role of Attachment Style in the Relationships between Work-Home Interference, Relationship Satisfaction, and Job Satisfaction A harmonious balance between work and home domains can be challenging to achieve for many individuals.Work-homeinterference, also known as perceived spillover, exists when individuals receive competing demands from independent domains, such as work and family domains (Grzywacz & Marks 2000). These domains are competing for physical energy, time, and mental capabilities (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985). Work-home interference is increasingly becoming a problem because of the competing demands made by home and work environments, in which the tasks and roles that are needed to be fulfilled are becoming harder to balance. This increased strain can lead to maladaptive outcomes on an individual’s daily life in areas such as relationship and job dissatisfaction. However, not all individuals experience workhome interference to the same degree. Some are more negatively affected than others. Certain individuals in particular feel unable to adapt and adjust their behaviors in order to cope with the demands of these different domains (Greenhaus & Beutell 1985). The reasons as to why this may be has not been explored in great detail in previous literature. One reason for potential differences in work-home interference may be because of an individual’s attachment style. By exploring the different facets of work-home interference, as well as the role of attachment, we can begin to understand the associations these have with one another and ATTACHMENT STYLES AND WORK-HOME INTERFERENCE 3 why work-home interference can influence relationship and job quality and satisfaction to such a high degree for certain individuals. Work-Home Interference Work-home interference occurs because of several types of distinct conflicts that occur within work and family domains (Greenhaus and Beutell 1985). Time-based conflict occurs when the multiple roles demanded of an individual cannot all be fulfilled due to a lack of time. For example, participating in one specific role in the work-place may make it difficult to fulfill a rolewithin the home domain. Strain-based conflict occurs when an individual feels symptoms of stress due to having to fulfill obligations of different roles simultaneously. For example, an individual can work a full-time job as well as be a mother who has several duties and obligations needed to be completed in the home domain. Feelings of depression, anxiety, fatigue, and/or other related symptoms can heavily influence an individual’s experience transitioning between different domains. The last type of conflict is behavior-based conflict, which is when independent domains have different behavioral expectations of an individual. When an individual is unable to easily regulate and adapt his/her behaviors to meet the different expectations of the different domains, work -home interference levels rise (Greenhaus and Beutell 1985). Work and family domains interact in a reciprocal cycle and are in competition with one another. Often the stresses of work leak into the family-home environment when an ATTACHMENT STYLES AND WORK-HOME INTERFERENCE 4 individual is experiencing fatigue, is distracted, or preoccupied with work-related activities (Greenhaus & Beutell 1985). Due to the many types of interference affecting individuals in all areas of their daily lives, it is no surprise that one area that can suffer from the consequences of interference is romantic relationships. Research shows that having tension and strain due to work-home interference can have a negative impact onrelationship outcomes (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985). Individuals who have high levels of conflict between the home and work environments report lower levels of relationship satisfaction and quality. For these individuals, their relationships and romantic partners suffer the consequences of them being unable to balance the competing demands. Keeping relationships stable and satisfying becomes increasingly more difficult when adding on the stress of obligations from both work and home. Greenhas and Beutell (1985) found that women with more work-home interference also report lower levels of relationship satisfaction, overall lower levels of quality within their romantic relationship, less perceived support from their partner, as well as more confrontational situations with their romantic partner. This study provides empirical support that work-home interference can weigh heavily on the relationship between romantic partners. In addition, Judge, Ilies, and Scott (2006) found that increased work-home interference was associated with emotions of guilt and hostility. These negative emotions were found to be carried over from the work place of individuals into their home lives, which resulted in a general decrease in marital satisfaction. From these data, one can conclude that there is indeed a link between workhome interference and relationship satisfaction. ATTACHMENT STYLES AND WORK-HOME INTERFERENCE 5 Work-home interference can also negatively affect individuals’ work environments. Hopkins (1983) identified job satisfaction as an individual fulfilling his/her needs that are necessary with one’s work. That is, individuals being emotionally content in the work place environment. A vast body of literature supports the association between job satisfaction and work to home conflict. A study conducted by Lambert, Hogan, and Barton (2002) showed that when employees who experience time-based conflict, and thus spillover between the two domains, they experienced more job dissatisfaction. Ford, Heinen, and Langkamer (2007) also suggested that stress sources from both family and work domains are related to job satisfaction. Their results showed that family stress and conflict was the strongest variable related to job dissatisfaction, suggesting that individuals who experience more stress at home are more likely to be dissatisfied with their work or work environment. Kossek and Ozekk (1998) argued that there is a negative relationship between all types of work-home interference and job satisfaction, with the work to family interference direction being the strongest in relation. To further support the negative association between work-home interference and job satisfaction, a study conducted by Lourel, Ford, and Gamassou (2008) showed that there is a positive correlation between job dissatisfaction and work-home interference. This can be interpreted as the more work-home interference an individual experiences, the more job dissatisfaction the individual also experiences. ATTACHMENT STYLES AND WORK-HOME INTERFERENCE 6