EffectsofLeisureTimeExperienceson

Employees’Well-Being

Dr.PaulFlaxman

Acknowledgements

•  Educa0onSupportPartnership•  Bri0shAcademy/LeverhulmeTrust

SonjaCarmichaelCity,UniversityofLondon

ShannonHoranCity,UniversityofLondon

Dr.ChrisStrideUniversityofSheffield

PresentaGonOverview

•  Leisure0merecoveryresearch

•  Study1:Teachers’experiencesoftheChristmasbreak

•  Study2:Teachers’experiencesoftheUKhalf-term/USSpringbreak

•  Prac0calrecommenda0ons

Focusonemployees’leisureGmerecoveryexperiences…..

Employee recovery during non-work time

How people's evening, weekend, and vacation experiences influence well-being and performance at work

Whythistopicisconsideredimportant

•  ProblemsassociatedwithprolongedacGvaGonofstress-relatedpsychophysiology

•  Manyemployeesarenotpsychologicallydetaching(or‘switchingoff’)fromworkduringnon-work0me

•  Inadequaterecoveryduringnon-work0mecanhaveacumula0veeffect,oRenresul0nginworkerburnout

Effort-RecoveryModel(Meijman&Mulder,1998)

•  Effortexpenditureatworkleadstoloadreac0ons(e.g.,fa0gue,physiologicalac0va0on)

•  Undernormalcircumstances,oncetheindividualisnolongerexposedtoworkdemands,loadreac0onsarereversedandrecoveryoccurs

•  Withoutsufficientrecovery,workerrequirescompensatoryeffortwhenre-enteringtheworkplace

•  Importantthatfunc0onalsystemstaxedduringworkarenotfurtherdepletedduringrespite

WhatDoWeKnowAboutVacaGonsFromWork?

•  Improvedhealthandwell-beingfoundfrombeforetoduringavaca0on(the‘vaca2oneffect’)

•  ‘Fadeout’ofvaca0oneffectoccurswithinfirst2to4weeksofworkresump0on

•  Mostresearchhasexaminedeffectsofspringorsummervaca0ons

•  Vaca0onlengtha(surprisingly?)weakpredictorofrespiteeffects

Study1:EffectsoftheChristmasBreakonSchoolTeachers’Well-Being

Study1Aims

•  Examineeffectsofstandard(2week)Christmasbreakonschoolteachers’well-being

•  Iden0fypa`ernsofvaca0onrecoveryandfadeout

for:-emoGonalwell-being(anxietyanddepression)-work-relatedexhausGon(burnout)

Study1Aims

ExaminetheChristmasbreakexperiencesthatinfluenceteachers’recovery:•  Timespentonwork-relatedacGviGesduringthetwo-

weekChristmasbreak

•  Work-relatedworryandruminaGonduringthebreak

•  Sa0sfac0onofbasicpsychologyneeds:autonomy,competence,andsocialrelatednessduringthebreak

ChristmasStudyDesign

PRE-VACATIONWeek1 13thDecember2013 2workweeksbeforeChristmasWeek2 20thDecember2013 1workweekbeforeChristmas

DURINGVACATION

Week3 27thDecember2013 Christmasweek1Week4 3rdJanuary2014 Christmasweek2

POST-VACATION

Week5 10thJanuary2014 Post-Christmasworkweek1Week6 17thJanuary2014 Post-Christmasworkweek2Week7 24thJanuary2014 Post-Christmasworkweek3Week8 31stJanuary2014 Post-Christmasworkweek4

ParGcipantCharacterisGcs90UKschoolteachers.68%primaryteachers;32%secondaryteachersGender=85%femaleAverageage=41(range=23to63)Averagenumberofyearsteaching=9(range=0to33)

INITIALSURVEYPersonality-neuro0cism/emo0onalstabilityWorkcharacteris0cs-perceived0mepressure;jobautonomy;workplacesupportAge,gender,jobrole

WEEKLYWELL-BEINGSURVEYS

Anxiety:“anxious”,“tense”,“worried”

Depression:“depressed”,“gloomy”,“miserable”

Work-relatedemoGonalexhausGon(burnout)e.g.,“Ifeltburnedoutfrommywork”

WEEKLYSURVEYS(DURINGCHRISTMASBREAK)Work-relatedworryandruminaGon

“Iworriedaboutthingstodowithwork”.“Mythoughtskeptreturningtoastressfulsitua0onatwork”.

PsychologicalneedssaGsfacGon

“Howeffec0vedidyoufeelwhenperformingtasksoverthispastweek?”(competence)

“Towhatextentdidyoufeelyouwerepursuingyourowngoalsoverthispastweek?”(autonomy)

“Towhatextentdidyoufeelcloseandconnectedtothepeopleyouwerewiththispastweek?”(relatedness)

Flat–step–flat–step–flat

Flat–step–flat–lineargradualfadeout

Flat–linear–curvedgradualfadeout

Results:EmoGonalwell-being(anxietyanddepression)

StepdropinanxietyanddepressionduringChristmasLowdepressionandanxietyduringChristmasCurved(gradual)increaseinanxietyanddepressionwhenbackatwork

Xmas

Results:work-relatedexhausGon(burnout)

GraduallinearrecoveryPossiblynotfullyrecovered?CurvedincreaseinexhausGon(butnotbacktopre-xmaslevels)Xmas

•  Work-relatedworryandruminaGonduringtheChristmasbreak

•  HoursworkedovertheChristmasbreak

Two‘unique’predictorsofthefadeoutrate:

**A#eradjus,ngfor:pre-Christmaswell-being,thevaca,oneffect,neuro,cism,workdemands,jobcontrol,age,gender,andwhetherholidayinvolved‘,meaway’.

Study2:EffectsofaMid-TermBreakonTeachers’Well-Being:ExaminingtheRoleofMaladap0vePersonalityCharacteris0cs

PRE-BREAKWeek1 5thFebruary2016 2workweeksbeforehalf-termWeek2 12thFebruary2016 1workweekbeforehalf-term

DURINGBREAK

Week3 19thFebruary2016 Half-termweek

POST-BREAK

Week4 26thFebruary2016 Post-breakworkweek1Week5 4thMarch2016 Post-breakworkweek2Week6 11thMarch2016 Post-breakworkweek3Week7 18thMarch2016 Post-breakworkweek4

Half-TermStudyDesign(Februaryexample)

176teachers,headteachers,teachingassistantsfromUKandUSschools(half-terminUK;SpringBreakorPresident'sweekintheUS)41%innon-managerialroles38%mid-levelmanagerialorleadershiproles12%seniorleadersAverageage=4087.5%femaleAverageyearsteaching=14years89%workedfull-0me

ParGcipantCharacterisGcs

INITIALSURVEYPersonality-neuro0cism/emo0onalstability

Personality-perfecGonistcharacterisGcsWorkcharacteris0cs-perceived0mepressure;jobautonomy;workplacesupportAge,gender,jobrole

WEEKLYWELL-BEINGSURVEYS

Depressedaffect:“depressed”,“gloomy”,“sad”“miserable”PosiGveaffect(pleasant,highacGvaGon):“excited”,“alert”,“energe0c”,“enthusias0c”

Work-relatedemoGonalexhausGon(burnout)e.g.,“Ifeltburnedoutfrommywork”

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Weekbefore Midtermbreak WeekaRer

PosiGveEmoGon(e.g.,enthusias0c,excited,energe0c)

0123456789

Weekbefore Midtermbreak WeekaRer

DepressedEmoGon(e.g.,depressed,gloomy,miserable)

0

5

10

15

20

25

Weekbefore Midtermbreak WeekaRer

Work-ReletedExhausGon(Burnout)

TwoFormsofPerfecGonism

PerfecGonistStriving PerfecGonistConcernsVeryhighpersonalstandards VeryhighpersonalstandardsExtremeconscien0ousness Linkedtoneuro0cismRewardsensi0ve Threatsensi0veExtremelyhighgoals Fearoffailure/concernabout

makingmistakesRepeatedlychecktasksforerrors/mistakesFeelpressurefromothers‘tobeperfect’

Maladap0veperfec0onism

(Rela0vely)Adap0veperfec0onism

PredicGngwell-beingduringfirstweekbackatwork

PosiGveaffect

Depressedaffect

WorkexhausGon

β ΔR2 β ΔR2 β ΔR2

STEP1 .05* .05* .02

Age .12 .03 -.08

Gender .04 -.02 .05

Neuro0cism .04 .02 -.04

STEP2 .19*** .19*** .40***

Well-beingduringthebreak

.43*** .41*** .58***

STEP3 .04** .05*** .03*

Perfec0oniststriving

.11 -.01 .06

PerfecGonistconcerns

-.28*** .29*** .20**

WorryandruminaGonaboutwork

duringthemid-termbreak

MediaGonResults

PerfecGonistconcerns

PooreremoGonalwell-beingandhigherexhausGonwhenreturningtoworkajerthebreak

Work-relatedworryandruminaGonduringnon-workGmemediatedtherelaGonshipbetweenteacherperfecGonismandpost-breakwell-being

Summary/InterpretaGon

•  Teachers’emo0onalwell-beingshowsimmediateimprovementduringnon-workweeks

•  Work-relatedexhaus0onseemstotakelongerto

recoverfrom(**andpossiblethat2weeksnotenough0meforfullrecovery)

•  Resultsgenerallyshowagradual(curvilinear)pa`ernofpost-vaca0onfadeout

Summary/InterpretaGon

•  Employeesexhibi0ngamaladap0veformofperfec0onismathigherriskofpoorrecoveryandburnout

•  Recoveryshowntobeimpairedby:

o  Workingduringnon-work0meo  Worryingandrumina0ngaboutworkduring

non-work0me

NowRecruiGngTeachersforMay2017Half-TermStudy!

www.city.ac.uk/assessing-teachers-well-being

Oremail:

teachers.wellbeing@city.ac.uk

PracGcalRecommendaGons

•  IncludingleisureGmerecoveryaspartofstaffwell-beingconversa0onsandini0a0ves

•  Possiblewaysthatmanagementmighthelptomodelandpromoterecovery?

•  Skills-basedinterven0onsthat:o  Reduceproblema0caspectsofperfec0onismo  Helpstafftodisentanglefromworryandrumina0on

ThankyouforyouramenGon

Dr.PaulFlaxmanCity,UniversityofLondon