Joseph G. Grzywacz and team at the University of California at Irvine say the spillover between work life and family life can affect an individual’s mental and physical health. Through analyzing data on 1,547 adults ages 35 to 65 to assess how work stress affected family life, they found that negative work experiences can create an irritable family member at home and an irritable family member can make a difficult employee, and negative work experiences that leak into family life can increase a person’s susceptibility to illness. Those who had less negative spillover from work to family had better overall health, meaning fewer sick days from work. Researchers remark that a healthier employee is more likely to be a more productive employee, thus by promoting good health in the workplace, resulting benefits include increased work capacity positive family life.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: American Journal of Health Promotion, March/April 2000
