Spillover in the Academy: Marriage Stability and Faculty Evaluations

The literature on the relationship between work and family has shown that there is a spillover effect between both domains. In particular, research that has investigated the influence of home environment on work has shown that family instability affects work satisfaction and performance. This study investigates the spillover between family and work by examining the link between marital status and work performance across the three phases of marriage, divorce, and remarriage. Specifically, this article links marital status and work performance through a longitudinal analysis of a set of university teaching evaluations. A polynomial regression model was fit to the data and a cubic curve through the three periods of marriage, divorce, and remarriage was statistically significant. Implications of the study and areas for future research are discussed.