The Role of Tweet-Related Emotion on the Exhaustion – Recovery from Work Relationship

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between work-related exhaustion and the recovery experiences of psychological detachment and relaxation during leisure, and the moderating role of emotion (positive & negative) when using Twitter during and after work. Participants were asked to rate their emotion based on the tweets they posted each day, together with their exhaustion at work and their recovery experiences at the end of the day. Results from the multilevel analyses showed that experiencing positive emotion when tweeting at work buffered the negative relationship of exhaustion and psychological detachment, but not relaxation. Negative emotion did not moderate the relationship significantly. The results show that social media can play a significant role in the recovery process and offer interesting insights both for employees and organisations.