Reactions to Work-Family Events: an Exploration Through Varying Temporal Lenses

The present symposium examines individual reactions to work-family events. The four presentations are united in their focus on discrete events that impact the work- family interface, such as experiencing a financial hardship, negotiating a work- family decision, and experiencing daily work-family conflict episodes. At the same time, the papers complement one another by using a variety of time-sensitive methodologies, yielding insight into monthly, daily, and momentary within-person reactions to such events. Further, the papers examine a variety of outcomes relevant to the well-being of individuals and their families, including physical health symptoms, discrete emotions, fatigue, and cardiovascular health. Together these papers highlight new insights that can be gained from episodic, or events-based research. Specifically, the findings help to articulate “what happens” when individuals experience work-family events in real time. In addition, each paper furthers the research connecting work-family experiences to the health and well- being of individuals by identifying empirical event triggers, demonstrating specific worker reactions to the experiences, and pinpointing when these reactions occur. Finally, this symposium contains four exemplary papers spanning different types of events, reactions, measurement strategies, and time frames. This diversity is intended to inspire conversation for how others might conduct events-based research to advance knowledge of the work-family interface and worker health. The impact of financial hardships over time: A three-wave study Presenter: Heather Odle-Dusseau; Gettysburg College Presenter: Russell A. Matthews; U. of Alabama Presenter: Julie Holliday Wayne; Wake Forest U. Episodic work-family conflict and strain: A dynamic perspective Presenter: Kimberly French; Georgia Institute of Technology Presenter: Tammy D. Allen; U. of South Florida Presenter: Andrea Bevill; U. of South Florida Presenter: Alexandra Blume; U. of South Florida Presenter: Allegra Campbell; U. of South Florida Presenter: Sujie Chen; U. of South Florida Presenter: Molly Darby; U. of South Florida Presenter: Wednesday Radke; U. of South Florida Presenter: Hyeyoung Yoon; U. of South Florida Self-conscious emotions due to episodes of work-family conflict Presenter: Zheng Chen; U. of South Florida, St. Petersburg Presenter: Mark Promislo; Rider U. Presenter: Tammy D. Allen; U. of South Florida Couple work-family decision making: A multimethod approach Presenter: Kimberly French; Georgia Institute of Technology Presenter: Tyler Henderson; U. of South Florida Presenter: Joseph Regina; U. of South Florida Presenter: Kristen Salomon; U. of South Florida Presenter: Tammy D. Allen; U. of South Florida Presenter: Zheng Chen; U. of South Florida, St. Petersburg Presenter: Varol Kayhan; U. of South Florida St. Petersburg