The Spillover-Crossover model is used in psychological research to examine to impact of the work domain on the home domain, and consequently, the transference of work-related emotions from the employee to others at home (particularly the partner). The ways in which well-being can be transferred have been categorized into two different mechanisms (;Westman, M. (2002). Crossover of stress and strain in the family and in the workplace. In P.L. Perrewé & D.C. Ganster (Eds.), Research in occupational stress and well-being (Vol. 2). JAI Press/Elsevier Science.Bolger, N., DeLongis, A., Kessler, R., & Wethington, E. (1989). The contagion of stress across multiple roles. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 175-183.): spillover and crossover.
Spillover Spillover concerns the transmission of states of well-being from one domain of life to another (Westman, M. (2002). Crossover of stress and strain in the family and in the workplace. In P.L. Perrewé & D.C. Ganster (Eds.), Research in occupational stress and well-being (Vol. 2). JAI Press/Elsevier Science.). This is a process that takes place at the intra-individual level, thus within one person but across different domains (Bakker, A.B., Demerouti, E., & Burke, R. (2009). Workaholism and relationship quality: A spillover-crossover perspective. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14, 23-33.). The experiences that are transferred from one domain to the other can be either negative or positive.
Work-family conflict: negative spillover Spillover effects apply to situations in which there is a form of inter-role conflict. That is, being involved in a work-role may put strains on the family role, or vice versa (Greenhaus, J.H., & Beutell, N.J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review, 10, 76-88.). This implies that an additional categorization can be made between two different types of inter-role conflict (Bakker, A.B., & Demerouti, E. (in press). The Spillover-Crossover model. In J. Grzywacs & E. Demerouti (Eds.), Work-life balance. Psychology Press.). Firstly, work-family conflict (WFC) refers to a situation where the pressures related to the work-role have an unfavorable impact on the family role. Second, family-work conflict (FWC) refers to a situation where the pressures of the family role have an unfavorable impact on the role individuals have at work. An example of a (WFC-) spillover effect would be one in which an individual experiences a need to compromise on leisure time (i.e. private domain) due to work overload (i.e. work domain). Up till now, numerous studies have found evidence for spillover effects (for a meta-analysis, see;Amstad, F.T., Meier, L.L., Fasel, U., Elfering, A., & Semmer, N.K. (2011). A meta-analysis of work-family conflict and various outcomes with a special emphasis on cross-domain versus matching-domain relations. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 16, 151-169.Ford, M., Heinen, B., & Langkamer, K. (2007). Work and family satisfaction and conflict: A meta-analysis of cross-domain relations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 57-80.).
Predicting negative spillover Both dispositional variables (e.g., Type A personality, negative affectivity;Carlson, D. S. (1999). Personality and role variables as predictors of three forms of work-family conflict. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 55, 236-253.), as well as work characteristics have been shown to play a role in work-family conflict (;Byron, K. (2005). A meta-analytic review of work-family conflict and its antecedents. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67, 169-198.Frone, M.R. (2003). Work-family balance. In J.C. Quick & L.E. Tetrick (Eds), Handbook of occupational health psychology (pp. 143-162). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.). Different job demands have been shown to predict WFC, including work-role overload (e.g.;Butler, A.B., Grzywacz, J.G., Bass, B.L., & Linney, K.D. (2005). Extending the demands-control model: A daily diary study of job characteristics, work-family conflict and work-family facilitation. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 78, 155-169.Demerouti, E., Bakker, A.B., & Bulters, A. (2004a). The loss spiral of work pressure, work-home interference and exhaustion: Reciprocal relationships in a three-wave study. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 64, 131-149.) and work pressure (e.g.,Dollard, M.F., Winefield, H.R., & Winefield, A.H. (2001). Occupational strain and efficacy in human service workers. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.Grzywacz, J.G., & Marks, N.F. (2000). Reconceptualizing the work-family interface: An ecological perspective on the correlates of positive and negative spillover between work and family. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5, 111-126.Wallace, J.E. (1997). It’s about time: A study of hours worked and work spillover among law firm lawyers. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 50, 227-248.), but also an unfavorable working time schedule (;Demerouti, E., Geurts, S.A.E., Bakker, A.B., & Euwema, M. (2004c). The impact of shiftwork on work-home interference, job attitudes and health. Ergonomics, 47, 987-1002.Geurts, S.A.E., Rutte, C., & Peeters, M. (1999). Antecedents and consequences of work-home interference among medical residents. Social Science & Medicine, 48, 1135-1148.) and emotional job demands (Bakker, A.B., & Geurts, S. (2004). Toward a dual-process model of work-home interference. Work & Occupations, 31, 345-366.).
Work-family enrichment/facilitation: positive spillover Apart from the hampering, negative effects of WFC/FWC-conflicts, positive effects may also occur (Bakker, A.B., & Demerouti, E. (in press). The Spillover-Crossover model. In J. Grzywacs & E. Demerouti (Eds.), Work-life balance. Psychology Press.). This process is called work-family enrichment or facilitation (Greenhaus, J. H., & Powell, G. N. (2006). When work and family are allies: A theory of work-family enrichment. Academy of Management Review, 31(1), 72-92.).
Predicting positive spillover Research has shown that, in general, positive spillover is positively related to job resources (e.g., social support, autonomy, feedback;Bakker, A.B., & Geurts, S. (2004). Toward a dual-process model of work-home interference. Work & Occupations, 31, 345-366.). Also, positive spillover has been related positively to job performance and other outcomes (Demerouti, E., Bakker, A.B., & Voydanoff, P. (2010). Does home life interfere with or facilitate performance? European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 19, 128–149).
Explaining spillover One theoretical framework that has been used to explain negative spillover is called the role scarcity hypothesis (Edwards, Jeffrey R., & Rothbard, Nancy P. 2000. Mechanisms linking work and family: Specifying the relationships between work and family constructs. Academy of Management Review, 25: 178-199). The main argument here is that since people have a limited, fixed amount of resources (e.g., energy, time), problems may arise when different roles draw on these same resources. For example, when both family and work roles draw on the scarce resource of time, it is likely that one of these roles is compromised due to a lack of available time. A different framework, the role expansion hypothesis (Marks, S. (1977). Multiple roles and role strain: Some notes on human energy, time, and commitment. American Sociological Review, 42, 921-936.), has been used to explain positive spillover. According to this hypothesis, individuals generate resources (e.g., positive mood, skills) and opportunities from the multiple roles they are engaged in. These, in turn, can be used in both life domains to improve functioning and promote growth (Barnett, R.C., Raudenbush, S.W., Brennan, R.T., Pleck, J.H., & Marshall, N.L. (1995). Changes in job and marital experience and change in psychological distress: A longitudinal study of dual-earner couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 839–850.).
Crossover In the process of crossover, the transmission of states of well-being takes place between closely related persons (Westman, M. (2002). Crossover of stress and strain in the family and in the workplace. In P.L. Perrewé & D.C. Ganster (Eds.), Research in occupational stress and well-being (Vol. 2). JAI Press/Elsevier Science.). This process is characterized by transmission on the inter-individual level (Bakker, Demerouti & Burke, 2009). In other words, the crossover is a dyadic process where states of well-being ‘cross over’ to another individual. Research has shown that this process can entail both the transfer of negative, as well as positive experiences (Bakker, A.B., & Demerouti, E. (in press). The Spillover-Crossover model. In J. Grzywacs & E. Demerouti (Eds.), Work-life balance. Psychology Press.). An example of a crossover effect would be one in which an individual transfers feelings of stress or fatigue to his/her partner. Research studies have shown this effect to occur between partners. For example, a study by Demerouti, Bakker and Schaufeli (2005-Demerouti, E., Bakker, A.B., & Schaufeli, W.B. (2005). Spillover and crossover of exhaustion and life satisfaction among dual-earner parents. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67, 266-289.) indicated that partners of employees suffering from burnout may actually develop burnout themselves.
Predicting crossover It has been shown that crossover is more likely to occur in situations where individuals pay close attention to others (Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J. T. & Rapson, R. L. (1993). Emotional contagion [Elektronische versie]. Current directions in psychological science: a journal of the American Psychological Society, 2 (3), 96-99.). Also, the crossover is more likely when individuals have self-construals that are focused on being interrelated to others, rather than being unique and independent. Sensitivity and susceptibility to emotional stimuli may also predict crossover (e.g.Doherty, R. W., Orimoto, L., Singelis, T. M., Hatfield, E., & Hebb, J. (1995). Emotional contagion: Gender and occupational differences. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19, 355-371.).
Explaining crossover Emphatic processes, common stressors and communication/interaction have been identified by Westman (2006 - Westman, M. (2006). Models of work-family interactions: Stress and strain crossover. In R. K. Suri (Ed.), International encyclopedia of organizational behavior (pp. 498-522). New Delhi: Pentagon Press.) as potential mechanisms explaining the crossover effect. Finally, the transmission of states of well-being may be mediated by interaction and communication, such as social undermining or a lack of social support.
Combining spillover and crossover: The Spillover-Crossover model In the Spillover-Crossover model (SCM), research and theories on spillover and crossover are combined, resulting in a model that proposes the following: first, experiences in the work domain spill over to the family domain (;Bakker, A.B., & Demerouti, E. (in press). The Spillover-Crossover model. In J. Grzywacs & E. Demerouti (Eds.), Work-life balance. Psychology Press.Bakker, A.B., Demerouti, E., & Dollard, M. (2008). How job demands influence partners’ experience of exhaustion: Integrating work-family conflict and crossover theory. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 901-911.). Consequently, through social interaction, the experiences cross over from one partner to the other. As explained in the previous sections, this process can concern both positive and negative experiences.