Taking it (Home) with You
Each year, the U’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) enables more than 400 students to partner with faculty members on collaborative research projects. Here’s another snapshot of an ongoing project—tackling an issue that affects just about everyone.
Ever snapped at your partner, cursed the dog, or mauled a head of lettuce—all because you had a bad day at work? That’s what Joyce Bono, Marvin E. Dunnette Chair in Organizational/Industrial Psychology, would call “spillover” from work to home life. With insights gleaned from her latest research in the field of work psychology, she may be able to help you stop taking your workaday worries home.
Photo by Richard G. Anderson
With the research assistance of undergraduate Jessica Vandenheuvel and graduate student Kristie Campana, Bono has been studying a group of 50 employees to determine what factors make or break their workdays and what determines whether their anxieties “spill over.” Seem like a hard subject to quantify? That’s where technology comes in handy.
Twice a day for two weeks, study participants log onto a Web survey to mull over questions such as “Would you help someone out right now, if it’s not part of your job?” and (later, at home) “Have you spent quality time with your children?” They also report on their “best” and “worst” work experiences each day, and describe how they feel physically (“Do you have a headache? Does your stomach hurt?”).
Processing such a mountain of information is no small task—Bono has relied heavily on the enthusiasm and diligence of her research assistants. Vandenheuvel has helped gather information about past studies, develop the Web survey, and analyze the data.
Once analyzed, the information from this study will be offered through various leadership training programs (like the Leadership Development Corps, which Bono founded) to city employees of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
The field of work psychology appeals to both Bono and Vandenheuvel because of the universality of work issues. “Everyone works, everyone gets stressed out at work, and everyone has bad days because of work,” says Vandenheuvel. As for Bono, her work is driven by one simple goal: “to improve employees’ quality of work life.”
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