Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the effect of personality on work-home interaction crossover
effects among dual-earner couples in South Africa. Dual-earner couples (n = 264; 132
couples) with young children were the participants. They completed measures on work-home
interaction and personality respectively. Multilevel modelling was used to analyze
predictions for six personality variables and four work-home interaction outcome variables.
We also examined interaction effects between husbands’ and wives’ actor effects, as well as
between their partner effects. Results suggest only wives’ Extraversion, Emotional Stability
and Openness positively influenced husbands’ experience of work-home interaction. Workhome
personality crossover actor effects were more pronounced for wives in that an increase
in Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability and Extraversion would lead to a possible increase
in the experience of positive work-home and home-work interaction and decrease in negative
and work-home home-work interaction, depending on the personality factor. Partner effects
were stronger for husbands in that an increase in Extraversion in wives will increase
husbands’ experience of positive home-work interaction. A gendered effect appears to
influence work-home interaction among South Africans working couple and important for
interventions for balanced work and home lives.