Keeping up appearances: The image (re)construction process across work and nonwork domains, its causes and effects

Individuals are increasingly confronted with ‘diseases of modernity’, such as stress and burnout. While insights from the work-family interface have mainly pointed towards demands and resources coming from the work and nonwork domains, the proposed multi-method PhD research project aims to contribute to contemporary scholarly and societal work-life and burnout debates by presenting an alternative theoretical lens on the development of mental health complaints in today’s society, especially among the younger Millennial generation. The project aims to shed light on how and why Millennial employees engage in a so-called ‘work/nonwork image (re)construction process’.

The project will reflect on the following questions:
How, why and when do individual workers engage in a process in which they construct their image(s) in the work and nonwork domains?
What are the relationships, if any, between the image (re)construction process individuals engage in and potential positive- and negative consequences?

The findings are expected to have important implications not only for preventive measures for individuals and organizations, but also for possible avenues for future studies.

Project Partner: Nyenrode Business Universiteit