The Myth of Separate Worlds: A Quantitative Examination of the Relationship Between Organizational Attachment and Work-Nonwork Interaction

Abstract: Aim: The increasing importance of employee retention and talent acquisition have necessitated the need for a deeper understanding of employee psychology influencing these factors. As such, the current study examines the relationship between individual organizational attachment and work-nonwork conflict and work-nonwork enrichment.  Further interest was paid to possible moderating influences of work centrality, gender, number of dependents and number of contract hours. Design: Data was collected through online surveys. Participants were contacted through internet portals and selected business contacts at private companies. The study followed a cross-sectional design. The contributing sample consisted of 94 participants. Results: Organizational attachment styles contribute to differences in experienced work-nonwork conflict and work-nonwork enrichment. Anxious and avoidant organizational attachment exhibit a positive relationship with work-nonwork conflict and a negative relationship with work-nonwork enrichment. The relationship between organizational attachment anxiety and work-nonwork conflict is partially moderated by gender. No empirical support was found for the moderating influences of work centrality, number of dependents and number of contract hours. Implications: The results indicate that patterns of organizational attachment shape adult lives inside and outside of the workplace. Knowledge of how individuals experience work and nonwork depending on their organizational attachment allows for a sensitization towards individuality in the workplace. Catering to employees’ attachment needs could feasibly contribute to organizational viability and success. Novelty: Previous research has mostly examined attachment at work in terms of interpersonal attachment, while disregarding the role the organization can play as an attachment figure. While existing studies have examined the connection between (romantic) attachment and work-family or work-life conflict and enrichment, this study offers insights into how employees’ attachment relationships to the organization connects to the experience of work-nonwork conflict and enrichment.