A Lengthy Look at the Daily Grind: Time Series Analysis of Events, Mood, Stress, and Satisfaction.

Abstract

The present study investigated processes by which job stress and satisfaction unfold over time by examining the relations between daily stressful events, mood, and these variables. Using a Web-based daily survey of stressor events, perceived strain, mood, and job satisfaction completed by 14 university workers, 1,060 occasions of data were collected. Transfer function analysis, a multivariate version of time series analysis, was used to examine the data for relationships among the measured variables after factoring out the contaminating influences of serial dependency. Results revealed a contrast effect in which a stressful event associated positively with higher strain on the same day and associated negatively with strain on the following day. Perceived strain increased over the course of a semester for a majority of participants, suggesting that effects of stress build over time. Finally, the data were consistent with the notion that job satisfaction is a distal outcome that is mediated by perceived strain.

The Recovery Experience Questionnaire: Development and validation of a measure for assessing recuperation and unwinding from work.

“…Because stressful work conditions often lead to impaired mood (Fuller et al, 2003), mood repair is one of the core functions of recovery. Research on mood regulation identified a range of different strategies individuals pursue to improve their mood including both cognitive and behavioral approaches (Parkinson, Totterdell, Briner, & Reynolds, 1996;Thayer, Newman, & McClain, 1994).…”

Job stressors and the pursuit of sport activities: A day-level perspective.

“…Similarly, sport and related activities have been identified as a powerful mood regulation strategy (Larsen & Prizmic, 2004;Thayer, 1987). Therefore, because the experience of job stressors is associated with mood impairment (Fuller et al, 2003;Zohar et al, 2003), one would assume that, after stressful days, people would want to engage in sport activities that promote recovery and improve mood. However, many people's everyday experience and the limited-resources model of self-regulation (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000) suggest that this is often not the case.…”

Diary Studies in Organizational Research

“…In line with this everyday experience, there is convincing empirical evidence for these fluctuations. Examples include studies on a person's affective state Zohar, Tzischinski, & Epstein, 2003), experiences such as work engagement and vigor (Sonnentag, 2003;Xanthopoulou, Bakker, Demerouti, & Schaufeli, 2009), or work behavior such as creativity at work (Amabile, Barsade, Mueller, & Staw, 2005;Ohly & Fritz, in press) and job performance (Binnewies, Sonnentag, & Mojza, 2009;Fuller et al, 2003). Diary designs offer means of analyzing such fluctuating data.…”

“…For example, Rook and Zijlstra (2006) have demonstrated that weekday fatigue scores as well as sleep quality follow a specific pattern. Grech et al (2009) examined how fatigue develops over the course of several consecutive shifts during navy patrols (see also Fuller et al, 2003).…”