B1.4
Tracks
Stream B
| Thursday, October 29, 2026 |
| 2:30 PM - 2:45 PM |
Overview
Does Support Always Help? Interpersonal Emotion Regulation and Daily Carryover Across Work and Home | 15 mins
Presenter
Hester Xiao
The University Of Sydney
Does Support Always Help? Interpersonal Emotion Regulation and Daily Carryover Across Work and Home
2:30 PM - 2:45 PMAbstract
Authors: Hester Xiao¹, Sarah Cameron², Réka RENDES³, Terise Broodryk⁴, Karen Niven⁵, Kit Double¹, Rebecca Pinkus¹, Carolyn MacCann¹
¹ School of Psychology, The University of Sydney; ² Vrije Universiteit Brussel; ³ University of Pécs; ⁴ Victoria University of Wellington; ⁵ University of Sheffield Management School, University of Sheffield
Daily interpersonal interactions involve ongoing emotional exchanges that influence individuals’ well-being across social contexts. Adults occupy roles in both work and home domains, making interactions with coworkers and romantic partners particularly important. This presentation examines how extrinsic emotion regulation, defined as regulating others’ emotions, operates across work and home to influence the persistence of daily affective experiences. Drawing on spillover and recovery frameworks, the aim is to investigate whether emotional interactions at home influence the carryover of exhaustion and affect at work across days, and whether interactions at work similarly affect experiences at home.
The content draws on two diary studies of employed adults in committed relationships. Study 1 (N = 172; 2-day, 3-time) identifies common ways people support others emotionally across contexts, including helping someone see a situation differently (cognitive reframing), solving problems for them (direct action), listening attentively, and expressing care and appreciation (valuing), which inform a 10-day diary study. Study 2 (N = 120; 10-day, 20-time; within-person design) shows that effects differ depending on both the type of support and the direction of spillover. In the home domain, receiving support from a partner that helps reinterpret stressful situations (target role) and providing problem-focused help to the partner (regulator role) reduce next-day carryover of negative affect and exhaustion at work. In contrast, receiving more problem-focused help from a partner, can increase such carryover of negative affect and exhaustion at work. Work-based interactions show limited cross-domain effects, although both providing and receiving appreciation at work are directly associated with more favourable same-day home experiences.
The goal of this presentation is to clarify how interpersonal processes differ across relationships and contexts, and to identify practical ways to reduce employees’ negative experiences and potentially enhance positive experiences at both work and home. The findings suggest that emotional support is not uniformly beneficial, and that its effectiveness depends on how it is provided and received. Encouraging context-sensitive, responsive support in both close relationships and workplace interactions may improve employee well-being across domains.
¹ School of Psychology, The University of Sydney; ² Vrije Universiteit Brussel; ³ University of Pécs; ⁴ Victoria University of Wellington; ⁵ University of Sheffield Management School, University of Sheffield
Daily interpersonal interactions involve ongoing emotional exchanges that influence individuals’ well-being across social contexts. Adults occupy roles in both work and home domains, making interactions with coworkers and romantic partners particularly important. This presentation examines how extrinsic emotion regulation, defined as regulating others’ emotions, operates across work and home to influence the persistence of daily affective experiences. Drawing on spillover and recovery frameworks, the aim is to investigate whether emotional interactions at home influence the carryover of exhaustion and affect at work across days, and whether interactions at work similarly affect experiences at home.
The content draws on two diary studies of employed adults in committed relationships. Study 1 (N = 172; 2-day, 3-time) identifies common ways people support others emotionally across contexts, including helping someone see a situation differently (cognitive reframing), solving problems for them (direct action), listening attentively, and expressing care and appreciation (valuing), which inform a 10-day diary study. Study 2 (N = 120; 10-day, 20-time; within-person design) shows that effects differ depending on both the type of support and the direction of spillover. In the home domain, receiving support from a partner that helps reinterpret stressful situations (target role) and providing problem-focused help to the partner (regulator role) reduce next-day carryover of negative affect and exhaustion at work. In contrast, receiving more problem-focused help from a partner, can increase such carryover of negative affect and exhaustion at work. Work-based interactions show limited cross-domain effects, although both providing and receiving appreciation at work are directly associated with more favourable same-day home experiences.
The goal of this presentation is to clarify how interpersonal processes differ across relationships and contexts, and to identify practical ways to reduce employees’ negative experiences and potentially enhance positive experiences at both work and home. The findings suggest that emotional support is not uniformly beneficial, and that its effectiveness depends on how it is provided and received. Encouraging context-sensitive, responsive support in both close relationships and workplace interactions may improve employee well-being across domains.
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Hester Xiao is a PhD candidate in Psychology at the University of Sydney, with an expected graduation in 2026. Her research examines emotion regulation at both individual and interpersonal levels, focusing on how emotional processes shape relationships, work experiences, and well-being.
Her work spans four interconnected areas: emotion regulation in romantic relationships, emotional intelligence, the work–family interface, and resilience and adaptive coping. She is particularly interested in how emotions unfold across contexts and how interpersonal interactions influence recovery from stress in daily life.
Through her research, she aims to contribute to both psychological theory and practical applications, particularly in organizational and relational contexts. She seeks to develop evidence-based insights that support well-being, improve interpersonal functioning, and inform interventions in both workplace and everyday settings.
