ABSTRACT
New techniques for multiple moment assessment allow us to assess how people feel at different times of the day. These techniques are mostly used to assess how well people feel during particular activities. In this paper we focus on the difference in how well people feel at work and at home. The following questions are addressed: 1) How large is the difference in mood at work and at home? 2) How much does the difference in mood at work and at home vary across kinds of people and occupations? 3) Is the difference in mood at work and at home associated with job satisfaction as measured using common general retrospective ratings or does it tap another aspect of job satisfaction?
We explore answers to these questions, using data from a diary study in the Netherlands in which 1,410 people provided information about mood experienced in 32,000 episodes. We found that the average difference in mood at work and at home is small but that it varies across people and occupations. We found a low correlation of the difference in mood with the respondent’s retrospective ratings of their general job satisfaction, which suggests that there is more in the matter of job satisfaction than is measured using the usual questions on general job satisfaction. We suggest an agenda for further research.
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