Work-family balance and energy: A day-level study on recovery conditions

Why Do People (Not) Take Breaks? An Investigation of Individuals' Reasons for Taking and for Not Taking Breaks at Work

Although breaks can help employees stay energized and maintain high levels of performance throughout the day, employees sometimes refrain from taking a break despite wanting to do so. Unfortunately, few studies have investigated individuals' reasons for taking and for not taking a break at work. To address this gap, we developed a model for predicting employees' break-taking behaviors. We developed hypotheses by integrating theories of work stress, self-regulation, and the results of a qualitative survey conducted as part of the current research (Study 1). Specifically, we predicted that high workloads would be positively related to the desire to detach from work, but that at the same time, high workloads would also deter employees from actually taking breaks. Furthermore, we predicted that employees would be less likely to act upon their desire to take a break within an environment where breaks are frowned upon by supervisors and coworkers, relative to an environment where breaks are allowed and encouraged. The results of a daily diary study of full-time employees (Study 2) provided general support for these predictions. Altogether, this research provides insights into the manner in which employees' psychological experiences and characteristics of the work environment combine to predict break-taking.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10869-022-09866-4.

Daily Beneficial Effects of Work-to-Family Facilitation on Employees' Recovery and General Health: Is More Work Engagement Always Better?

This study of 104 Chilean employees examines the process of WFF—recovery—general health on a daily basis. Drawing on the work–home resources (W-HR) model, we hypothesized that daily work-to-family facilitation and work engagement predict recovery experiences during off-job time in the evening (i.e., detachment from work and relaxation) and subsequent general health at night. Furthermore, we explored whether daily work engagement moderates the relationships between daily work-to-family facilitation and recovery experiences during off-job time in the evening and general health at night. In addition, we expected employees' detachment from work to have a lagged effect on next-day general health at night. Participants completed a survey and a diary booklet over 5 consecutive working days (N = 520 occasions). Multilevel analyses show that, as expected, daily work-to-family facilitation predicted recovery experiences during off-job time in the evening (i.e., detachment from work and relaxation). However, contrary to our expectations, daily work engagement only predicted general health at night. Moreover, as expected, a moderation effect of daily work engagement shows that on days that employees experience low levels of daily work engagement, daily work-to-family facilitation is strongly related to detachment from work and relaxation during off-job time in the evening and to general health at night. Unexpectedly, on days on which employees experienced high levels of daily work engagement, daily work-to-family facilitation was weakly related to these outcomes. Finally, in accordance with our expectations, detachment from work had a lagged effect on next-day general health at night. These findings offer support for the W-HR model and have theoretical and practical implications for research and organizations.

Not Just Work-to-Family Conflict, But How you React to It Matters for Physical and Mental Health

Individuals with higher work-to-family conflict (WTFC) in general are more likely to report poorer physical and mental health. Less research, however, has examined the daily implications of WTFC, such as whether individuals' reactions to minor WTFC day-to-day (e.g., missing family dinner due to work obligation) are associated with health outcomes. We examined whether affective reactivity to daily WTFC was associated with poorer sleep, health behaviors, and mental health in a sample who may be particularly vulnerable to daily WTFC. Employed parents in the IT industry with adolescent-aged children (N = 118, M age = 45.01, 44.07 % female) reported daily WTFC and negative affect on 8 consecutive days, in addition to completing a survey that assessed sleep, health behaviors (smoking, drinking, exercise, fast food consumption), and psychological distress. Multilevel modeling outputted individual reactivity slopes by regressing daily negative affect on the day's WTFC. Results of general linear models indicated that affective reactivity to WTFC was associated with poorer sleep quality and higher levels of psychological distress - even when controlling for average daily negative affect on non-WTFC days. Individual differences in reactivity to daily WTFC have implications for health. Interventions aimed to reduce daily WTFC and reactivity to it are needed.

12-Year longitudinal study linking within-person changes in work and family transitions and workplace injury risk

INTRODUCTION

Despite the rich tradition of research on predictors of workplace injury, most studies rely on cross-sectional, between-person designs. Furthermore, prior research has often overlooked the possibility that factors outside the work domain can influence the occurrence of actual injuries at work. To address these limitations, the current study examined the effects of work and family demands on the occurrence of workplace injury. Drawing on the intuition of the work-home resources model (W-HR), we investigated how within-person level changes in demands and resources from both domains influence work injuries over a 12-year period.

METHOD

We used 12 years of longitudinal data (N = 7,820) to study the long-term within-person changes in work and family domains and to capture the event of low frequency incidence such as workplace injury. Specifically, we conducted multilevel analyses to study the links between within-person change in time and energy resources both in work and family domains and within-person change in the likelihood of experiencing a workplace injury.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

The findings showed that within-person changes in work hours, spousal work hours, income and number of children, were significantly associated with changes in the likelihood of experiencing a workplace injury. We conclude with a discussion of implications for theory and future research of workplace injuries. Practical application: The research provided useful insights on the intimate association between work and family domains in the context of safety management.

Taking control amidst the chaos: Emotion regulation during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a major global health crisis that continues to threaten public health and safety. Although the pandemic is still unfolding, measures to reduce the spread of the virus have spawned significant challenges to people's current work as well as their careers more generally. In this commentary, we discuss the implications of COVID-19 for maintaining one's psychological well-being and employment security, and also managing family and work responsibilities. We also bring forth evidence from the emotion regulation literature to help mitigate the downstream negative consequences of COVID-19 on people's work lives. Finally, we offer several suggestions for future scholarly investigation into how this pandemic impacts vocational behavior.

Do boundary preferences, work-family self-efficacy and proactive personality predict job satisfaction? The mediating role of work-family enrichment

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of personality and individual differences as an antecedent to work-family enrichment (WFE) and consequently with job satisfaction. This study address gaps in WFE literature by looking at proactivity, work-family self-efficacy (WFSE) and family permeability as antecedent variables that have received scant attention from researchers. By addressing these gaps, the study seeks to advance theory on WFE and its relation to job satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors do this through the exploration of pathways through WFE and studying 508 married individuals, with at least one child, working in the IT/ITES sector in India. The authors use structural equation modeling to analyze different pathways from personality based antecedents and WFE as mediator.

Findings

The results demonstrate the mediating role of WFE in the relationship between antecedents (WFSE, family permeability and proactive personality) and job satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to existing research on WFE and personality by showing that WFE is a significant pathway toward job satisfaction and how personality variables influence satisfaction.

Originality/value

It is also the first study to use proactivity and WFSE as antecedents to test out the influence of WFE on job satisfaction. This is also the first study to look at only married individuals with children in a WFE study forced on the services sector. Consequently, these findings have significant implications in the way organizations deal with work-life situations, especially in the 30+ age bracket in India.

Do recovery experiences moderate the relationship between workload and work-family conflict?

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of four recovery experiences (psychological detachment from work, relaxation, mastery, and control) in preventing work-family conflict (WFC). Specifically, on the basis of WFC and recovery theories the authors hypothesized that workload would be positively related to WFC, and that recovery experiences would moderate this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research involved 597 Italian employees (on pay-role or self-employed) from different occupational sectors. Participants filled-in an on-line questionnaire. Moderated structural equation modelling were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

– Results showed a positive relationship of workload with WFC. Regarding the hypothesized interaction effects, the relationship between workload and WFC was particularly strong under condition of low (vs high) psychological detachment, low relaxation, and low control.

Originality/value

– This study highlights the beneficial role of recovery experiences in preventing the spillover of workload to the family domain, showing their moderating effects for the first time. These findings have several implications for both future research and practitioners.

Strategies used by individuals to prevent burnout

BACKGROUND

Burnout represents a syndrome that is related to demanding job characteristics combined with the absence of resources or motivational job characteristics. The aim of this position study was to present strategies that individuals use to minimize burnout and its unfavourable effects.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study focuses explicitly on strategies that individuals use to (i) deal with diminished resources that come with burnout, (ii) change their job characteristics such that the job becomes less demanding and more motivating and (iii) manage the interplay between the work and nonwork domains.

RESULTS

Individuals seem to use coping, recovery and compensation strategies to reduce the impact of work stressors by changing the stressor or their responses to the stressor. Moreover, they use job crafting to alter the characteristics of the job such that it becomes less hindering and more motivating. Finally, individuals create boundaries between their work and nonwork domains to experience less work-family and family-work conflicts by actively detaching from work.

CONCLUSIONS

Finding bottom-up strategies that individuals use to minimize burnout or its unfavourable effects may be essential to complement the top-down interventions initiated by organizations.

Exposure to nature versus relaxation during lunch breaks and recovery from work: development and design of an intervention study to improve workers' health, well-being, work performance and creativity

Background

The objective of this research project is to understand and to improve workers’ recovery from work stress. Although recovery during lunch breaks is the most common within-workday break, it has received only minor research attention. Therefore, we will study whether lunch breaks including a relaxation session or exposure to nature have more favorable outcomes than usually spent lunch breaks concerning: a) recovery processes, b) health, c) well-being, d) job performance and e) creativity. We approach recovery by combining the theoretical frameworks of work and environmental psychology.

Methods/Design

We conduct an intervention study in a sample of 268 knowledge-workers who engage in different lunch break activities for 15-minutes per day, two weeks in a row. We randomly assign participants to three experimental conditions: 1) exposure to nature, 2) relaxation and 3) control group (lunch break spent as usual). Online questionnaires before and after the intervention assess long term changes regarding recovery processes and the major outcome variables. Before, during and after the intervention, SMS and paper-pencil questionnaires measure the same constructs four times a day with fewer items. We also measure blood pressure and collect saliva samples to map cortisol excretion across the intervention period. A timed experimental task (i.e., the Alternative Uses Task) is used to examine differences in creativity between the three groups after the intervention period.

Discussion

By combining the knowledge of work and environmental psychology about recovery and restorative experiences, by merging three recovery perspectives (settings, processes, and outcomes) and by using data triangulation, we produce valid results that broaden our view on mechanisms underlying recovery and enhance our understanding about their links to psychological, behavioural and physiological outcomes, resulting in a more comprehensive picture of work stress recovery in general.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration System NCT02124837. Registered 24 April 2014.

Predicting Occupational Congruence

This study compared the congruence between chosen occupation and vocational personality with the congruence between chosen occupation and parent’s occupation, investigating the effects of regulatory focus, career self-efficacy, and parental support. Gender differences were also explored. A sample of 260 undergraduate students completed questionnaires measuring their own and their parent’s vocational personality type, the quality of the parent–child relationship, and their own career self-efficacy and regulatory focus. Vocational congruence was calculated by C-index. The results show that regulatory focus of promotion and both low and high self-efficacy were related to a significantly higher level of congruence between chosen occupation and vocational personality than between chosen occupation and parent’s occupation. However, none of the variables was found to explain the level of congruence between vocational personality and chosen occupation, and no relationship was found between vocational congruence and satisfaction with the chosen profession. The findings indicate the importance of vocational inclinations over parental influence and personality traits in occupational choice. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Reciprocal Relationships Between Job Demands, Job Resources, and Recovery Opportunities

The aim of this study was to explore longitudinal relationships between job demands, job resources, and recovery opportunities. On the basis of the Job Demands-Resources model and Conservation of Resources theory we hypothesized that we would find reciprocal relations between job demands, job resources, and recovery opportunities over time. The sample was composed of 502 employees from a chemical processing company in the Netherlands, and we used a time lag of 1 year. Results of structural equation modeling analyses supported our hypotheses. Specifically, it was found that Time 1 (T1) workload was negatively related and autonomy positively related to Time 2 (T2) recovery opportunities. Additionally, T1 recovery opportunities had a negative effect on T2 workload and positive effects on autonomy and feedback. Overall, the findings suggest the presence of a positive upward spiral between job demands, job resources, and recovery opportunities.

Expanding the boundaries of work—family research: A review and agenda for future research

Given the dominance of work—family research within the context of the United States and a disparate and fractured understanding of the dynamic interplay between work and family for those who live and work beyond the borders of the United States, we review and synthesize 219 empirical work—family studies that have targeted employees outside of the United States. Our review answers four questions about international work—family research. First, what constitutes the work—family interface and is there consensus about how to measure it? Second, what theories have researchers used to explain the work—family interface? Third, which antecedents and consequences of the work—family interface are common across countries and which are unique to particular countries? Fourth, what can we learn from this review that will inform future research in this area? Based on our review, a universal theoretical framework that integrates both work—family conflict and facilitation is provided. Future research directions are also discussed.

Job Resources Buffer the Impact of Work-Family Conflict on Absenteeism in Female Employees

This study examines the relationship between work-family conflict and objective absenteeism 1 year later, by demonstrating that several job resources buffer the impact of work-family conflict on absenteeism. Female employees (N = 386) of a large financial services organization participated in the study. Four job resources (i.e., relationship with colleagues, relationship with supervisor, participation in decision-making, and developmental possibilities) were used to test the central hypothesis that the interaction between (high) work-family conflict and (low) job resources results in absenteeism (absence frequency and duration). Results of moderated structural equation modeling showed that only participation buffered the effect of work-family conflict on absence frequency, while the buffer hypothesis was confirmed for absence duration since all four two-way interactions were significant. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.