Role Of Recovery Experiences Research Articles

An effort-recovery model for early-stage entrepreneurs’ work demands: the role of recovery experiences

Entrepreneurs can benefit from having non-work experiences that help them recover the psychological resources depleted from work tasks. Using the Effort-Recovery Model as a basis for understanding how recovery occurs, this study examines relationships between non-work recovery experiences (i.e. psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery, and control) and well-being (i.e. work engagement, emotional exhaustion, and sleep quality) in entrepreneurs, a unique sample population for studying the relationships between these constructs. We test hypotheses using a cross-sectional survey of 247 early-stage entrepreneurs that founded a business in the prior three years. Findings show that mastery and control experiences have a positive relationship with work engagement, control experiences have a negative relationship with emotional exhaustion, and psychological detachment experiences have a positive relationship with sleep quality. The results also suggest that higher work hours are related to lower relaxation and control experiences, whereas a higher number of employees is related to higher relaxation experiences and feelings of control over non-work time. Comparing these results to studies with employees, one implication is that low psychological detachment may be less harmful in the short-term for early-stage entrepreneurs. A second implication is that there are benefits of multiple after-work recovery experiences (i.e. psychological detachment, mastery, and control).

Working time arrangements and exhaustion: The role of recovery experiences and satisfaction with the schedule.

Working time arrangements may be a source of strain and entail negative consequences for workers, one of which can be exhaustion. Based on the job demands-resources and the conservation of resources theories, this study explores recovery experiences from work and satisfaction with the work schedule as possible resources that may prevent or minimize such negative consequences. With a sample of 386 workers (n = 287 women; 99 men) and using a cluster analysis, we identified five working time arrangements: fixed standardized, part-time, irregular standardized, flexible standardized, and nonstandard work schedule (NWS). A one-way ANOVA found that workers in the irregular standardized schedule report higher exhaustion compared to the fixed standardized and the part-time. Exhaustion of workers in NWS is higher compared to the part-time workers. A multiple linear regression analysis found that the link between recovery experiences and exhaustion varies according to the working time arrangement. Lastly, an interaction analysis confirmed the moderator effect of satisfaction with the work schedule in the relationship between recovery experiences and exhaustion for the whole sample. When this analysis was performed separately for each cluster, this effect was only significant for NWS and by disentangling this finding by recovery dimensions, only relaxation had a significant interaction effect. This study clarifies the links between different recovery experiences and exhaustion, and points to the importance of satisfaction with the work schedule in facilitating recovery under demanding working time arrangements. Results are discussed considering the complex nature of the work-family interface.

A Diary Study on When and With Whom Recovery Experiences Modulate Daily Stress and Worry During a COVID-19 Lockdown.

In April 2020, almost six out of 10 people around the world were in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Being locked down usually has a deleterious effect on the confined individual's mental health. In this exceptionally challenging context, finding ways to minimize negative mood about the pandemic is essential. Pandemic-related negative states (“negative mood”) and recovery experiences were investigated in a sample of 264 individuals who completed daily surveys four times per day over 7 consecutive days. MSEMs analyses revealed that negative mood persisted from moment-to-moment through the day, thus showing a response lag effect. Further analyses revealed that when someone experienced pandemic-related psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery, control, pleasure, or relatedness at specific periods of the day, mood had improved at the next measured time period, suggesting a protective effect. However, the pattern displayed by singles with dependents suggests that some recovery experiences at specific periods during the day seem to have a backfiring effect and worsen subsequent mood. These findings bring new insight into the role of recovery experiences during lockdowns and suggest that many could benefit from such experiences throughout the day when self-isolating. However, for individuals with multiple risk factors such as being single with dependents, some recovery experiences, at specific periods during the day, might not bring the desired outcome and future research is needed to examine if guilt or domestic burden may explain this finding. Results contribute to our understanding of how to take care of one's mental health during the current pandemic, and concrete recommendations adapted to individual contexts are provided.

Daily Recovery, Sleep Quality, Resilience, Job Crafting, and Subsequent Job Performance

Despite the increasing importance of and demand for work-life balance and employee well-being, there is a dearth of research findings on the role of recovery experiences and sleep quality in proactive behaviors and job crafting among employees. Our study is the first to examine the relationships that overnight recovery experiences and sleep quality share with next-day job crafting and the underlying mediating mechanisms. Drawing upon the self-regulatory strength model, we predict that overnight recovery experiences and sleep quality will be positively related to next-day job crafting through next-morning resilience (i.e., mediator). We also develop a sequential mediation model within which daily recovery experiences and sleep quality predict subsequent job performance through daily resilience and job crafting (i.e., mediators). Ninety-one flight attendants responded to assessments twice a day across five consecutive days, and their job performance was measured three months later. The resultant data were used to test the proposed model. As predicted, overnight recovery experiences and sleep quality were positively associated with next-day job crafting through next-morning resilience. Furthermore, daily recovery experiences and sleep quality significantly predicted subsequent job performance (i.e., three months later) through daily resilience and job crafting.

Workplace telepressure and work-life balance outcomes: The role of work recovery experiences.

Workplace technology has posed some challenges to worker well-being. This research examined how workplace telepressure-a preoccupation and urge to respond quickly to message-based communications-is related to work life balance evaluations, as well as how work recovery experiences might explain this relationship. Using an online survey design, Study 1 (N=254) and Study 2 (N=409) demonstrated that employees' workplace telepressure negatively related to satisfaction with work-life balance. Study 1 showed that psychological detachment may explain the relationship between workplace telepressure and satisfaction with work-life balance. In Study 2, psychological detachment and control over leisure time explained the relationship between workplace telepressure and global evaluations of work-life balance (satisfaction and effectiveness). Mastery and control experiences explained the relationship between workplace telepressure and work-family enrichment. Lastly, three recovery mechanisms (detachment, relaxation, and control) explained the link between workplace telepressure and work-family conflict. The evidence suggests that workplace telepressure is negatively associated with various employee evaluations of work-life balance, but the role of recovery experiences may depend on how work-life balance is measured.