1

Discussant CommentsDiscussant Comments

Timothy A. Judge

(Kindly delivered by Reeshad Dalal)

27 April 2007

2

Work and Home BoundariesWork and Home Boundaries

Boundary between work and home become more permeable Dual career couples predominate and gender roles

becoming more egalitarian Increasing professionalism of labor force (no

“punch in, punch out” time) Technological changes (always “plugged in”)

Upshot: Our work and home lives are becoming more intertwined Symposium is on important topic

3

CommonalitiesCommonalities

Papers in this symposium use relatively cognitive concepts in study affective spillover Attention restoration theory (Menta & Weiss) Recovery experiences (Sonnentag et al.; Fritz et

al.) Cognitive weariness (Lam et al.)

All use experience-sampling methodology Has become modus necessarium of studying

moods and emotions

4

Problems and LimitationsProblems and Limitations

One paradox – if affect is important but (almost by nature) effects are temporally bound – are long-term effects nil?

Measurement problems Separating measures of moods from emotions Measuring specific emotions

Although measuring moods on a daily basis is probably accurate, what about emotions (which are very brief)?

Causality issues: Does affect lead to – or result from – cognitive concepts?

5

Where from Here?Where from Here?

There is very little to criticize in these papers In thinking about them, I was more often

struck by what they did well, but also by what is not being studied

So, I have a few slides of issues I think we should consider in future research…

6

Future Research IFuture Research I

Given that many households are dual-income, family structural decisions may be important to work-home life boundaries Impact of partner’s mood – or resources – on our

moods at work or at home Determine duration of spillover effects,

including effects on behaviors Important (but quite difficult) to use independent

sources for behaviors @ level-1

7

Future Research IIFuture Research II

Important to change measurement strategy Finer: more than 1-2 times per day Coarser: over longer time periods (weeks rather

than days) Affective forecasting

People overestimate the duration and amplitude of positive (negative) emotions generated by positive (negative) events

Implications for work events?

8

Coarser (Long-term) ViewCoarser (Long-term) View

4647484950515253545556

Marriedw/o

children

Child-bearing

Pre-schoolkids

Kids age5-12

Kids age12-16

First kidgone

Emptynest toretire

Retire todeath

Study 1Study 2Study 3Study 4

Happiness islowest here

Happiness is highest in tails

Source: Gilbert, D. (2006). Stumbling on happiness. New York: Knopf.

9

Future Research III Future Research III (last one!)(last one!)

If we focus on daily experiences, we may ignore… Subconscious, which is enjoying renewed interest

Unstudied in IO (though see Stajkovic, Locke, & Blair, JAP, 2006)

The degree to which emotional experiences are constructed based on salient vs. lasting Seligman argues that if we focus on improving emotional

experience, we have painted ourselves into a corner because it has, by definition, no lasting impact

Do what degree do, and should, employers attend to emotional experiences of employees?

By far the greatest impediment and aberration of the human understanding arises from…those things which strike the sense outweigh those which, although they may be more important, do not strike it directly (Bacon, 1620)

10

The EndThe End

Slides available at:

http://www.ufstudies.net/tim/VITA/index.htm