Abstract
Orientation: Women’s work engagement is affected by how well they balance their work and
personal life, and their level of confidence in their capability at work.
Research purpose: Determine whether women’s daily psychological availability mediates
daily positive work-home interaction and daily positive home-work interaction on daily
work engagement.
Motivation for the study: Research into negative work–home and home–work interaction is
in abundance. Limited studies focus on the positive effects on women’s experiences at work
(i.e. work engagement). Little is known about women’s psychological availability and how
it affects their work. Furthermore, little research provides us insights into the day-level
experiences of women at work.
Research approach/design and method: A quantitative, shortitudinal design was used. Data
analyses accounted for multilevel structure in the data (within-person vs. between-person
differences). Female employees (n = 60) from various industries in Gauteng, completed
electronic diaries in the form of a survey for 10 consecutive working days.
Main findings: Daily psychological availability mediates between daily positive work-home
interaction and daily work engagement. Daily positive home-work interaction did not predict
daily work engagement, but had a significant effect on daily psychological availability.
Practical/managerial implications: Examining systems and structures that promote
opportunities for women to become more psychologically available at work impacts their
sustainable retention.
Contribution/value-add: This study found significant relationships between day-level uses
of personal resources and spillover effects of home-work and work-home on day-level work
engagement. The study further contributes to the literature on positive work–home and
home–work interaction.