What kind of relationships does exist between a person’s work experience and his attitudes and behavior in the non-work sphere? Do negative work experiences extend into the realm of non-work with the same connotation (extension hypothesis)? Are negative work experiences compensated off work (compensation hypothesis) or are both realms, in principle, unconnected (autonomy hypothesis)? Which dimensions of work experience influence the non-work sphere within the scope of the extension and the compensation hypothesis? - These problems are empirically evaluated, taking membership and activities in voluntary associations as the dependent variables. The data consist of 928 closed interviews with employed males in Northrhine-Westphalia. The dimensions of work experience were measured through statements. These were factoranalysed and converted into indexes. The statistical evaluation is based on partial correlations, taking demographic data into account. - On the whole, the results are in favor of the autonomy hypothesis; in some cases, there are significant but weak relationships in favor of the extension hypothesis; the compensation hypothesis proved to be least fruitful. The results are compared as to content and method with other similar research.