Staying engaged during the week: The effect of off-job activities on next day work engagement.

Abstract

Although studies on employee recovery accumulate at a stunning pace, the commonly used theory (Effort-Recovery model) that explains how recovery occurs has not been explicitly tested. We aimed to unravel the recovery process by examining whether off-job activities enhance next morning vigor to the extent that they enable employees to relax and detach from work. In addition, we investigated whether adequate recovery also helps employees to work with more enthusiasm and vigor on the next workday. On five consecutive days, a total of 74 employees (356 data points) reported the hours they spent on various off-job activities, their feelings of psychological detachment, and feelings of relaxation before going to sleep. Feelings of vigor were reported on the next morning, and day-levels of work engagement were reported after work. As predicted, leisure activities (social, low-effort, and physical activities) increased next morning vigor through enhanced psychological detachment and relaxation. High-duty off-job activities (work and household tasks) reduced vigor because these activities diminished psychological detachment and relaxation. Moreover, off-job activities significantly affected next day work engagement. Our results support the assumption that recovery occurs when employees engage in off-job activities that allow for relaxation and psychological detachment. The findings also underscore the significance of recovery after work: Adequate recovery not only enhances vigor in the morning, but also helps employees to stay engaged during the next workday.

Proud to Be a Public Servant? An Analysis of the Work-Related Determinants of Professional Pride among Dutch Public Servants

“…The correlation is therefore not alarming to doubt the discriminate validity of pride. This confirms the theoretical assumption that PSM is a different concept from pride (Ten Brummelhuis & Bakker, 2012) …”

Social Activities Do not Distract Everyone from Work A Diary Study of Work-Related Perseverative Cognition

“…This study sheds new light on previous findings by bringing new insight on why social activities may have been both effective (e.g., Mojza et al, 2010;Ten Brummelhuis & Bakker, 2012) and ineffective (Mojza et al, 2011;Sonnentag & Bayer, 2005) in reducing WPC and promoting resource recovery after work. Results from this study indicate that engaging in social activities does not divert internal reflection from work-related issues in individuals high in neuroticism.…”

“…However, studies have found conflicting evidence regarding the benefits of time spent on social activities (e.g., speaking with a friend on the phone). On the one hand, the amount of time spent on social activities during the evening and on the weekend has been positively related to workers' psychological detachment from work (e.g., Mojza, Lorenz, Sonnentag, & Binnewies, 2010;Ten Brummelhuis & Bakker, 2012). However, other studies have failed to confirm such benefits (Mojza, Sonnentag, & Bornemann, 2011;Sonnentag & Bayer, 2005).…”

“…Research has shown that pursuing some types of daily activities after work can help workers to disengage from work-related issues (Sonnentag & Bayer, 2005). For instance, physical activities such as endurance and fitness training can be an effective distraction from work-related issues (e.g., Feuerhahn, Sonnentag, & Woll, 2014;Ten Brummelhuis & Bakker, 2012). However, studies have found conflicting evidence regarding the benefits of time spent on social activities (e.g., speaking with a friend on the phone).…”

“…Findings from previous studies suggest that engaging in leisure activities is one strategy that individuals may choose to adopt in order to reduce WPC between work periods ten Brummelhuis & Bakker, 2012). Social activities, defined as actions involving interactions with others (e.g., speaking on the phone, meeting people or going out with friends; Nakahara, 2013), can enhance the ability to cognitively detach from work-related issues (Sonnentag & Bayer, 2005).…”