Daily within-fluctuations in need frustration and implications for employee recovery and well-being: A mixed-methods study.

Abstract

Daily variations in frustration of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) have received limited attention. This mixed-methods study examines such daily variations and their relations to recovery from work and employee well-being. The study uses multilevel modeling of repeated measures through daily surveys from a period of 8 working days across 2 consecutive weeks, combined with in-depth interviews. A sample of 54 Norwegian health-care workers completed a total of 242 daily surveys, and follow-up interviews were conducted with 10 participants. Quantitative results showed that need frustration at work fluctuates from day to day, with competence frustration notably impairing recovery (i.e., lower psychological detachment and relaxation) and increasing ill-being (i.e., higher exhaustion and negative work affect). Autonomy frustration was related to increased exhaustion and sleep complaints, while relatedness frustration showed no significant relation to recovery, ill-being, or sleep. Qualitative findings corroborated and expanded on these results, offering deepened insights into how competence and, sometimes, relatedness need frustration hampered the recovery process and sleep. The results of the current study add to the scarce body of literature on daily fluctuations in need frustration at work and its adverse consequences.