The opportunity to work at any time and place, which is facilitated by mobile communication technologies, reinforces employer expectations that employees are available for work beyond regular work hours. This study investigates the relation of daily extended work availability with psychological and physiological well-being and the mediating role of recovery experiences. We hypothesized that recovery is limited under conditions of extended work availability, which may impair well-being. A sample of 132 individuals from 13 organizations provided daily survey measures over a period of 4 days during which they were required to be available during nonworking hours and 4 days during which they were not required to be available. A subsample of 51 persons provided morning cortisol levels in addition to the survey data. The analysis of within-person processes using multilevel structural equation modeling revealed significant effects of extended work availability on the daily start-of-day mood and cortisol awakening response. Mediation analysis revealed that the recovery experience of control over off-job activities mediated the observed relationship with start-of-day mood but not the relationship with the cortisol awakening response. The results demonstrate that nonwork hours during which employees are required to remain available for work cannot be considered leisure time because employees’ control over their activities is constrained and their recovery from work is restricted.

The present study reports the lagged effects of work stress on work-related rumination, restful sleep, and nocturnal heart rate variability experienced during both workdays and weekends. Fifty employees participated in a diary study. Multilevel and regression analyses revealed a significant relationship between work stress measured at the end of a workday, work-related rumination measured during the evening, and restful sleep measured the following morning. Work stress, measured as the mean of 2 consecutive workdays, was substantially but not significantly related to restful sleep on weekends. Work stress was unrelated to nocturnal heart rate variability. Work-related rumination was related to restful sleep on weekends but not on workdays. Additionally, work-related rumination on weekends was positively related to nocturnal heart rate variability during the night between Saturday and Sunday. No mediation effects of work stress on restful sleep or nocturnal heart rate variability via work-related rumination were confirmed.

I n March 2020, the world was hit by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic which led to all-embracing measures to contain its spread. Most employees were forced to work from home and take care of their children because schools and daycares were closed. We present data from a research project in a large multinational organisation in the Netherlands with monthly quantitative measurements from January to May 2020 (N = 253-516), enriched with qualitative data from participants' comments before and after telework had started. Growth curve modelling showed major changes in employees' work-related well-being reflected in decreasing work engagement and increasing job satisfaction. For work-non-work balance, workload and autonomy, cubic trends over time were found, reflecting initial declines during crisis onset (March/April) and recovery in May. Participants' additional remarks exemplify that employees struggled with fulfilling different roles simultaneously, developing new routines and managing boundaries between life domains. Moderation analyses demonstrated that demographic variables shaped time trends. The diverging trends in well-being indicators raise intriguing questions and show that close monitoring and fine-grained analyses are needed to arrive at a better understanding of the impact of the crisis across time and among different groups of employees.

Flexible work schedules like on-call work have effects on well-being. The mere possibility of being disturbed by calls shows negative consequences, regardless of whether the employees are actually called in or not.

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