Date: 23 September 2026, Wednesday
Time: 10.30 – 11.30
Place: MA-330
“Capitalizing on care: Compassionate love moderates how work-family capitalization relates to cross-domain engagement and proactivity”
by
Yasin Rofcanin
University of Bath
Abstract
Research on how couples manage their work-family obligations highlighted that some partners more proactively engage in their work and home lives than others. Although proactivity is crucial to achieve work and home goals, we know little about the work-family dynamics that foster proactivity across life domains. We develop a dual work-and-home process perspective involving both couple members (i.e., termed actor and partner) to examine the relationship between actor work-family capitalization (i.e., sharing positive work events with one’s partner at home) and actor engagement as well as proactivity, both at work and at home. We also consider the impact of partner trait compassionate love on the relationship between actor work-family capitalization and actor engagement and proactivity at work and at home. Results of two experience-sampling studies showed that on days with higher work- family capitalization, actors experience greater work and home engagement, which promotes proactivity at work and at home. We also demonstrate that high trait partner compassionate love amplifies the consequences of work-family capitalization for actor engagement and proactivity at work.
In contrast, we found that capitalization-related consequences for engagement and proactivity at home are also strengthened but only when partner trait compassionate love is low. A supplemental recall experiment largely replicated our findings and additionally revealed that work-family support receipt acts as a behavioral manifestation of trait compassionate love. We contribute to the work-family balance literature and propose practical interventions, which may inspire couples to more proactively manage their lives.
Bio
Yasin Rofcanin is Professor of Human Resource Management and Organisational Psychology at the University of Bath School of Management. He received his PhD from Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, and holds a BA from Boğaziçi University, Istanbul. He currently serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Management Studies, Human Relations, and the Journal of Vocational Behavior, and sits on the editorial boards of leading journals including the Journal of Management, Human Resource Management Journal, and Human Resource Management.
His research lies at the intersection of work and nonwork domains, with a focus on how organizational practices shape employee experiences, well-being, and performance. Adopting a critical and integrative perspective, his work examines both the enabling and constraining effects of HR practices and proactive work behaviors. His current research explores themes such as playful work design, leisure crafting, idiosyncratic deals, proactivity, well-being, burnout, and flexible work arrangements.
Professor Rofcanin has published extensively in top-tier journals, including the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management Studies, Human Relations, Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management Journal, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, and the Journal of Vocational Behavior. He has also co-edited three books on idiosyncratic work arrangements, human flourishing, and healthy workplace relationships, contributing to advancing scholarly and practical conversations on the future of work.