Capitalization on positive family events and task performance: a perspective from the work-home resources model

Based on the work–home resources model, the present study aims to investigate the family-to-work enrichment process. Specifically, we theorize that positive child-related events and capitalizing on these events with significant others may facilitate employees’ functioning at work. To test this enrichment process, we collected daily diary data from 112 Dutch working parents at 2 time points per day for 5 consecutive workdays. Specifically, we tested a mediated moderation model in which previous day positive child-related events were hypothesized to moderate the relationship between daily job demands and daily task performance through capitalization during the previous evening. As predicted, results of multilevel analyses revealed that the relationship between job demands and task performance was positive when employees had a resourceful home life, that is, experienced a high (vs. low) level of positive child-related events. In addition, sharing these positive events with significant others at home facilitated employees’ functioning in dealing with job demands and further improved task performance during the subsequent workday. Finally, the moderating effect of previous day positive child-related events was mediated by capitalization at home during the previous evening. These findings suggest that capitalization is an important behavioral mechanism that prolongs the resourceful experiences in the family domain and benefits the work domain.