Measuring the Positive Side of the Work-Life Interface: A Factor Analytic Examination and Scale Refinement of Work-Life Enrichment, Facilitation, and Positive Spillover

Abstract

Since the conception of the positive side of the work-life interface, several researchers have simultaneously developed separate conceptualizations of positive transfers between the work and life domains, including work-life enrichment, facilitation, and positive spillover. Consequently, there are various labels and measurement tools for these potentially overlapping constructs, resulting in a lack of conceptual clarity and inconsistent measurement of positive exchanges between the domains throughout the literature. The widespread interchangeable use of these construct labels hinders both theoretical and practical development of this phenomenon. In order to address these limitations, the present study develops and validates a comprehensive measure representing the positive side of the work-life interface, which is referred to as positive spillover. The measure encompasses previously developed measures of work-life enrichment, facilitation, and positive spillover, along with newly generated items to best capture facets underlying the positive transfers between work and life. Using six samples of data, several analyses were conducted to create a synthesized, holistic representation of the positive side of the work-life interface, including qualitative analyses, exploratory factors analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and both single and multi-timepoint scale validation.