Work-nonwork interactions describe on the one hand the influence of work on private life and on the other hand the influence of private life on work. Work and private life can influence each other positively (enrichment) as well as negatively (conflict). Due to the parallel fulfilment of tasks from different areas of life, the investigation of the mutual influence of work and private life is more important than ever. This does not only apply to single parents or families with two working partners. Due to the changing demographic distribution and the increasing retention of older workers in the world of work, the reconciliation of work and private life will also play an increasingly important role for older workers in the future. Therefore, it is important to understand the diverse role requirements of older employees and to meet them in a targeted manner. Specifically designed interventions can help to minimise negative interactions between work and private life and to promote positive aspects of these interactions. Specific interventions not only have positive effects for the employee in areas such as health and family, but can also be of interest to companies by increasing the motivation and performance of employees at work.

The project, which is being conducted by Prof. Dr. Andreas Hirschi and MSc Nicola Jänsch of the University of Bern, investigates interventions to promote productive work-nonwork interactions among older employees. On the one hand, a review of existing interventions in the area of work-nonwork interactions should provide information on their general effectiveness. In a second step, a new intervention programme will be designed and evaluated in different work contexts.

For the implementation and evaluation of the intervention programme, interested Swiss companies will be looked for from 2019 onwards.