The dynamic spillover of job satisfaction onto life satisfaction: the moderating role of emotional inertia

In recent years, research about work-life interface has grown rapidly (Edwards & Rothbard, 2000). Whereas work and family experiences have proved to be deeply interconnected (Zedeck, 1992), the underlying mechanisms of this spillover process are yet to be cleared (Heller & Watson, 2005). The aim of this study is to investigate the role of temporal dependency of emotional states in the spillover of daily job satisfaction onto daily life satisfaction. While several studies have attested the mediating role of negative and positive affect in work-life interface, little is known about the role that specific emotion dynamics, such as emotional inertia (Kuppens et al., 2012), may play in this process. Following the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), 116 workers who work directly with the public (62.1% females, average age 43.29 years, DS = 12.78) filled six brief questionnaires per day, for five working days. A multilevel path analysis was conducted to test our hypothesis. Results from multilevel analysis supported the hypothesized model, indicating that resistance to change of emotional states significantly moderates the relationship between daily job satisfaction and daily life satisfaction: the higher the levels of emotional inertia, the stronger the relationship. This study entails some limitations, mostly linked to the use of self-reports and the short time span covered. These results improve the current understanding of the spillover process between job and life satisfaction, and emphasize the role of emotion dynamics and emotional regulation in the work-life interface.