Longitudinal Stability of Work–Family Enrichment and its Association With Well-Being and Personality Traits

Abstract

Are higher levels of work–family enrichment a consequence or manifestation of certain personality traits and individuals’ psychological functioning? Using random intercept cross-lagged panel models, we examined the hypothesized stability of work-to-family enrichment (WFE) and family-to-work enrichment (FWE) over two 10-year intervals, and the extent to which the within-person changes of WFE and FWE are associated with personality traits, psychological well-being, and possible gender differences. In this 20-year, longitudinal data analysis of employed adults (N = 535), results indicated the robust nature of the stability of WFE and FWE. Our results suggest that personality traits are not associated with within-person change for either WFE or FWE, but psychological well-being is associated with within-person change. Theoretically and conceptually, our findings provide strong evidence that work–family enrichment is not simply an “optimistic worldview” created by personality and well-being. The within-person results lend strong evidence that interventions that improve psychological well-being will also enhance work–family enrichment.