Identification of a dispositional tendency to experience work-family spillover

Are individuals predisposed to experience work-family spillover? Despite theoretical relevance and practical implications related to this issue, research on this topic is scarce. With this in mind, we investigated if there is a dispositional tendency to experience work-family spillover using a nationally representative longitudinal sample. We present evidence that supports the existence of a disposition to spillover by demonstrating that (a) a dispositional factor model accounts for data better than other competing factor models, (b) the dispositional factor is stable over time at a ten-year follow up, and (c) the dispositional factor is distinct from Big-5 personality traits. Findings highlight the important role that disposition plays in reports of work-family spillover and the necessity to consider individual differences in future work-family theories.