Work–Family Spillover Among Dual-Earner Couples

A key advance in understanding the work–family interface is evidence of the transfer (“crossover”) of negative spillover between spouses, yet few studies have attempted to examine spillover as a couple-level phenomenon. We use the Ecology of Careers longitudinal data on dual-earner couples (N=1,168) to (a) identify work–family spillover patterns among middle-class couples; (b) examine pattern stability over time; and (c) develop predictive models for these patterns. We find that wives typically report more positive and negative work spillover than their husbands, but positive family spillover varies little among these households. Using latent cluster analysis we show that negative family and work spillover (as well as positive work spillover) do cluster into three identifiable patterns, each having different predictors.