A rigorous test of a model of employees' resource recovery mechanisms during a weekend

Abstract

SummaryEmployees' recovery from the effects of occupational stress can be affected by their actions during time away from work. Conservation of resources theory argues that a key to an effective stress recovery process is the replenishment of resources during off-work time (a weekend in the present study). We test a model of the stress recovery process during a weekend whereby two recovery mechanisms (weekend activities and recovery experiences) improve two personal resources (self-regulatory capacity and state optimism), subsequently affecting psychological outcomes (work engagement and burnout) at the start of the next workweek. Employees (n = 233) from various jobs responded to online surveys before and after a weekend. Controlling for pre-weekend resource levels and psychological outcomes assessed on Friday, the two weekend stress recovery mechanisms (weekend activities and recovery experiences) contributed to improving or maintaining self-regulatory and optimism resources on Monday. Of note, psychological detachment may result in less rather than more of the resource of state optimism on Monday. Monday resource levels were linked to improved work engagement and burnout. As proposed by conservation of resources theory, employees can benefit from participating in activities that replenish resources necessary to meet work demands upon returning to work after a weekend.

Relationships between recovery experiences and well-being among younger and older teachers

“…It is known that physical and social activities are usually conducive to recovery, but findings regarding most other types of leisure activities (e.g., passive activities, like watching TV) are inconsistent (e.g., Sonnentag 2001;Sonnentag et al 2017). Although recovery experiences are presumed to underlie off-job activities (Sonnentag and Fritz 2007), little is known about which activities are linked to which experiences (e.g., Ragsdale and Beehr 2016). It is probably possible to get the same experiences from different activities and that the same activities may generate different experiences in different individuals (e.g., someone may find reading relaxing, whereas for someone else, it may produce mastery experiences).…”

Employees’ Weekend Activities and Psychological Well-Being via Job Stress: A Moderated Mediation Role of Recovery Experience

“…In particular, it was observed that psychological detachment, relaxation, recovery of resources, and psychological stability are not proportional to the quantity of weekend activities but vary according to individual characteristics and the degree of personally perceived recovery experiences [26]. In this respect, this study seeks to broaden the understanding in four areas [16][17][18].…”

“…As a means of coping with job stress, weekend activities and recovery experiences have been attracting public interest, which has fueled a surge of related research [14][15][16][17][18]. However, previous studies on job stress and psychological well-being have addressed the issue from an organizational perspective [19][20][21].…”

Investigating affective dispositions as moderators of relationships between weekend activities and recovery experiences

“…Research has shown that NA is negatively related to personal accomplishment (a dimension of burnout), because people with higher NA tend to perceive situations as hindrances (Alarcon, Eschleman, & Bowling, ). Previous research has shown that low‐effort activities may be weakly related or unrelated to mastery (e.g., Ragsdale & Beehr, ), possibly because any potential for learning or experiencing challenge comes from more passive behaviours (e.g., watching a cooking show or trivia show). However, in line with the research noted above, we expect that this relationship will become negative for people with higher NA.…”