Cross-over Effects of Job Autonomy and Working Time on Mental Distress among Dual-earner Couples: A Longitudinal Dyadic Analysis

Abstract

Objectives: Autonomy over job tasks, timing, and methods has become increasingly crucial for worker health and wellbeing. Despite extensive research on job autonomy's impact on individual mental distress, its spousal crossover effect in dual-earner couples, a growing workforce demographic, remains less understood. Methods:Using longitudinal dyadic data from the United Kingdom, we examine the dyadic relationship between job autonomy and mental distress among couples, and how it depends on job demands, such as working time. Results: Findings indicate that job autonomy can significantly reduce both spouses' own mental distress but indicate notable gender disparities in spousal crossover effects with husbands' job autonomy exerting a more substantial impact on their wives' mental distress than vice versa. Furthermore, a wife's job autonomy can more significantly reduce her mental distress, as well as her husband's, particularly when she works overtime. In contrast, the benefits of a husband's job autonomy for his own mental health persist regardless of his working time but are more evident for his wife when he works part-time. Conclusions: Overall, these insights highlight the gender-related interplay of job autonomy, working time, and mental distress, emphasizing the value of devising workplace health policies to satisfy the diverse needs among dual-earner couples.