Need for Recovery, Off-Job Activities and Well-being:

A Day Reconstruction Study

Master Thesis Research Project

Ivan V. Valev

28-Aug-13 2 Ivan V. Valev, MSc Organisational Psychology

Agenda

• Purpose of Research • Theoretical Background • Theoretical Model • Sample • Method • Empirical Findings • Empirical Model • Conclusions • Limitations & Future Research

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Well-Being: always en vogue

28-Aug-13 4 Ivan V. Valev, MSc Organisational Psychology

Purpose of Research

• To examine the direct effect Daily Need for Recovery has on time spent in specific off-job activities

• To investigate how Daily Need for Recovery moderates the link between off-job activities and Daily Well-being

• To propose Psychological Need Satisfaction (PNS) as a mediating mechanism explaining how engaging in certain activities in off-job time affects Well-being

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Theoretical Background I

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Effort-Recovery (Meijman & Mulder, 1998)

• Investing effort at work is unavoidable, causing acute load reactions

• When off-job activities don’t occupy the same type of resources needed for work, then these activities possess a recovery function

Conservation of Resources (Hobfoll, 2002)

• People strive to obtain, retain, protect, and build personal resources

• People attempt to restore their resource during after-work hours

Need for Recovery (Demerouti et al., 2009)

• Sense of urgency that people feel to take a break from job demands when personal resources are exhausted

• Indicates an impaired state of well-being

Theoretical Background II

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Psychological Need Satisfaction (Deci & Ryan, 2000)

• People have the basic psychological needs (PNS) for Autonomy, Competence and Relatedness

• Satisfying these needs is a growth-related activity, leading to such outcomes like better health and well-being

Well-being (Shirom, 2004; Sonnentag, 2001)

• Vigor: cognitive liveliness & physical strength

• External Recovery: the extent to which people restore their personal resources to pre-stressor levels during off-work time/activities

Ivan V. Valev, MSc Organisational Psychology

Theoretical Model

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Physical Strength

Low-effort Autonomy

Workload

Job

Characteristics

Need for Recovery

Time spent on

off-job

Activities

Well-being

at bedtime

Social

Well-being

prior to start of

workday

Self-rated

Performance

Psychological Need

Satisfaction

Relatedness Recovery

Physical Competence

Cognitive Liveliness

Ivan V. Valev, MSc Organisational Psychology

Method

• Trait Questionnaire to establish baseline levels

• Daily Questionnaire to assess day levels

• Day Reconstruction to evaluate PNS at the activity level

Day Reconstruction Method: Kahneman et al. (2004)

Ecologically valid method of accounting for daily intrapersonal variation Closer examination of momentary constructs experienced at the task level Accurate subjective evaluation of past events Limits recall bias & social desirability effects

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Daily Job Characteristics & Workload

Daily Need for Recovery

Well-being: start day PNS

Well-being: bedtime Performance

Ivan V. Valev, MSc Organisational Psychology

DRM: Example

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Psychology 10

Sample • 112 participants logged at least 1 day

87 multiple days 79 selected for analysis

– Mean age: 32.01 (SD = 11.19)

– Gender: 43 M, 62 W, 7 undisclosed

• 351 days reconstructed

• 2,556 logged activities overall

• Working hours, weekly average: 37.58 (SD = 13)

• Activities

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Social (daily average) 45.42min (SD = 90.23)

Physical (one weekly session) 80.55min

Low-effort (daily average) 68.66min (SD = 93.91)

Ivan V. Valev, MSc Organisational Psychology

Empirical Findings I

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H1: est = .20, ***

a

Scheme

*** = p < .001, n.s. = p > .05 , est = estimate

H2: n.s.

Empirical Findings II

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Scheme

Social Activities, *** = p < .001,

n.s. = p > .05, est = estimate

H4: est = -.39, ***

H3: n.s.

H4: n.s.

Time spent on

off-job

Activities

Empirical Findings III

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a a

Scheme

Physical Activities, *** = p < .001,

n.s. = p > .05 , est = estimate

Empirical Findings IV

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Psychology 15

Scheme

Social Activities Physical Activities Low-effort Activities

n.s. = p > .05

Empirical Model

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Workload

Job

Characteristics

Need for Recovery

Time spent on

off-job

Activities

Well-being

at bedtime

Social

Well-being

prior to start of

workday

Self-rated

Performance

Psychological Need

Satisfaction

Physical

Low-effort

Relatedness

Competence

Autonomy

Recovery

Physical Strength

Cognitive Liveliness

H1: est. = .20, ***

H4: est = -.39, ***

H6 Low-effort: n.s.

H5 Social: n.s.

H5 Physical: est = -.57, ***

H7: n.s. H8: n.s. H9: n.s.

Moderation H’s

H10: n.s.

H10: n.s.

H3: n.s.

H4: n.s.

H2: n.s.

Mediation H’s

Conclusions

• High Daily Workload contributes to higher Daily Need for Recovery

• High Daily Need for Recovery leads to less Time spent on Social off-job activities

• Daily Need for Recovery and Time spent on Physical Activities interact to impact Daily Well-

being at bedtime:

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Limitations & Future Research

• External recovery only: internal recovery to be considered

• PNS: low Reliability (internal consistency issues) • Dispositional characteristics not included: the

role of personality in the process? • Participants’ Commitment • Further Constructs:

– Relaxation Techniques (Behavioral) – Detachment (Psychological) – Sleep (Both?)

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Thank You for Your attention!

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Psychology 19

Well-being!

What is the purpose of being?