Job characteristics and off-job activities as predictors of need for recovery, well-being, and fatigue.

Abstract

Two empirical studies examined need for recovery (i.e., a person's desire to be temporarily relieved from demands in order to restore his or her resources) as a mediator in the relationship between poor job characteristics (high job demands, low job control) and high off-job demands, on the one hand, and fatigue and poor individual well-being, on the other hand. Multilevel data from a daily survey study in the health service sector (Study 1) showed that high job demands, low job control, and unfavorable off-job activities predicted a high need for recovery. Need for recovery in turn was negatively related to individual well-being. A large-scale survey with a representative sample of the Dutch working population (Study 2) confirmed these findings for fatigue. In both studies, need for recovery mediated the effects of job characteristics and off-job activities on fatigue and poor well-being, respectively.

"Did you have a nice evening?" A day-level study on recovery experiences, sleep, and affect.

“…Our study extends knowledge on job-stress recovery and affect regulation (Sonnentag & Zijlstra, 2006;Thayer, Newman, & McClain, 1994) by examining recovery experiences and sleep as predictors of morning affect. We use a within-person study design to capture daily fluctuations in recovery experiences, sleep, and affect.…”

Teachers’ Emotional Labour and Burnout: Does Perceived Organizational Support Matter?

“…Although job demands are not essentially negative, they may nevertheless become job stressors if meeting those demands involves high effort from which the employee has not sufficiently recovered (Sonnentag & Zijlstra, 2006). In the teaching profession for example, certain occurrences in the classroom such as an overly stubborn and troublesome student who constantly constitutes a nuisance in the class by trying to distract other students, being inattentive, making noise, bullying others, refusing to do assignments and so on, could evoke an emotion (e.g., anger, embarrassment) in the teacher, which may result to emotion-driven behaviours, such as frowning, yelling at the student, or punishing the student.…”

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

“…Recovery occurs when an individual's functioning returns to its prestressor level and when strain caused by the stressors is reduced (Craig & Cooper, 1992). Empirical research has shown that job stressors are related to individuals' subjective need for recovery (De Croon, Sluiter, Blonk, Broersen, & FringsDresen, 2004;Sonnentag & Zijlstra, 2006). Thus, after having faced a high level of stressors, individuals feel that recovery is needed.…”