Abstracts Psychology

Zombie at Work (Aggressive) Zombie at Home: The Relationship Between Work Boredom and Romantic Partner Undermining and Disengagement

by Kenzie Dye

Work boredom is an understudied topic within Industrial/Organizational psychology, and studies have yet to examine work boredom in the context of the work-nonwork interface. The present study reviewed the current work boredom literature and then examined two pathways by which boredom may be related to employees' behavior at home. It proposed that negative affect, in the form of frustration, is a link between work boredom and undermining behaviors toward one's romantic partner. The cognitive pathway connecting work boredom with romantic partner disengagement, was proposed to be affective rumination. These pathways were expected to be buffered with a high work-nonwork segmentation preference. Data were gathered from 142 dyads of cohabitating romantic couples. Hypotheses addressing the spillover effect were not supported. However, work boredom was associated with both frustration and affective rumination. The study concludes with implications and future research suggestions.