What are the active ingredients in recovery activities? Introducing a dimensional approach.

Abstract

Although previous research suggests that off-job activities are generally important for recovery from work stress, a profound understanding of which aspects of recovery activities benefit the recovery process and why is still lacking. In the present work, we introduce a dimensional approach toward studying recovery activities and present a taxonomy of key recovery activity dimensions (physical, mental, social, spiritual, creative, virtual, and outdoor). Across four studies (total N = 908) using cross-sectional, time-lagged, and a diary design, we develop and validate the Recovery Activity Characteristics (RAC) questionnaire, a multidimensional measure of RAC. Results demonstrate its content validity, high scale reliabilities, and a strong factor structure. With a 10-day diary study involving two daily measurement occasions, we demonstrate the role of RAC for recovery experiences and downstream well-being outcomes. Findings underscore the importance of carefully differentiating the active ingredients of recovery activities as they differentially relate to same evening and next-morning exhaustion and vigor.

Mind the misalignment: The moderating role of daily social sleep lag in employees' recovery processes

“…Thus, relaxation after work should increase employees' next-morning vigor. In contrast, mastery experiences arise from more challenging activities (e.g., physical or creative activities; Alameer et al, 2023) and give employees a feeling of competency. Thus, experiencing mastery can feel energizing and uplifting (van Hooff & De Pater, 2019;Vandercammen et al, 2014).…”

“…These results underline that dealing with the physiological stress reaction following interpersonal conflicts limits employees' energetic and self-regulatory resources, which are subsequently not available for mastering challenges (Baumeister et al, 2019;Nixon et al, 2011). Considering the diverging results for mastery and relaxation, recent research has demonstrated that different recovery activities underly relaxation and mastery experiences (Alameer et al, 2023).…”

“…Interestingly, relaxation was associated with higher next-morning vigor regardless of employees' daily social sleep lag. We speculate that this pattern arose because the activities needed to experience mastery (e.g., physical exercise; Alameer et al, 2023) depend more on energetic and selfregulatory resources and, thus, social sleep lag plays a greater role. All in all, considering moderators of recovery processes is crucial to gain a deeper understanding of how and when employees most benefit from which recovery experiences.…”

Leading for growth: a daily investigation of affiliation resources provided by the leader and nonwork mastery

“…self-efficacy; Sonnentag and Fritz, 2007), employees must engage in challenging and effortful nonwork activities if they are to experience mastery. For example, employees may experience mastery when they engage in nonwork activities that involve mental, physical, and/or creative effort (Alameer et al, 2023), such as doing sports or learning an instrument. Engagement in these activities requires the investment of personal resources (Sonnentag and Fritz, 2007).…”