Work and nonwork relations: A facet analysis

A definitional framework of the work/nonwork domain was suggested, based on the extant literature. The definition was tested empirically by applying Guttman’s Smallest Space Analysis to a reanalysis of Rousseau’s (1978) data. An empirical double-ordered conceptual system, a radex structure, was obtained, reflecting the two facets of the definition: Behavior modality (instrumental, affective, and cognitive) and life areas (work, nonwork). The facet approach applied in this study suggests that the various aspects of the domain may be characterized by different patterns of relationships. Results showed a segmented type of relationship in the cognitive region and spillover in the instrumental region, thus supporting the facet approach rather than the conventional approaches, which consider work and nonwork as unitary concepts and attempt to establish which of three proposed pattems-compensation, spillover, or segmentation-best characterizes their relationship.