Time Structure and Purpose as a Mediator of Work‐Life Linkages

This study explores time structure and purpose as a mediator of the relationship between the experience of work and well-being in life, taking into account personality factors. A recursive model is presented in which value attainment at work and job satisfaction are expected to positively affect life satisfaction directly and indirectly through their effects on time structure and purpose. A test of the model using questionnaire responses from 336 workers generally was supportive of the hypothesized relationships suggesting that one mechanism through which work may affect well-being is through work's influence on people's sense of time being spent in purposeful and meaningful ways. Support for the hypothesized role of personality in the model also was obtained. In general, these results are consistent with top-down and bottom-up theories of well-being suggesting that both types of processes likely operate in tandem. Implications of these results are discussed.

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