| Abstract: | The present study uses a within-person approach to provide insights into day-specific dynamics in the relation between self-control demands at work and well-being. Integrating arguments derived from the Limited Strength Model of Self-Control and research on spillover processes, we develop and test a theoretical model of how the adverse effects of day-specific self-control demands at work may spill over to the home domain. Specifically, we propose ego depletion at home (an indicator of regulatory resource depletion) as a mediator linking self-control demands on a given working day to reduced subjective vitality at home (an indicator of well-being). Furthermore, we suggest that daily psychological detachment moderates this indirect relationship to the effect that high detachment prevents the spillover of the adverse effects of self-control demands to the home domain. Results from our daily diary study across ten days (N = 86 employees) provide support for the proposed moderated mediation model, demonstrating that daily psychological detachment buffers the effect of self-control demands on ego depletion, thereby disrupting the indirect effect of self-control demands on subjective vitality at home. The study underlines the importance of within-person approaches for examining the adverse effects of self-control demands, and provides further evidence for the immediate resource-replenishing benefits of daily detachment levels. |
