ABSTRACT
There is ample evidence that job stress has an impact on workers’ mental and physical
well-being. However, less attention has been paid to crossover: the reaction of individuals
to the job stress experienced by those with whom they interact regularly. Bolger,
DeLongis, Kessler, and Wethington (1989) differentiated between two situations:
spillover-stress experienced in one domain of life results in stress in the other domain
for the same individual; and crossover-stress experienced in the workplace by the
individual leads to stress or strain being experienced by his or her spouse at home.
Whereas spillover is an intra-individiial transmission of stress, crossover is a dyadic,
Interpersonal transmission of stress or strain. Thus, crossover research focuses on the
