Recovery Processes During and After Work: Associations With Health, Work Engagement, and Job Performance

The role of workday characteristics on perceived stress and time pressure among nurses in Finnish long-term care - a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Aging populations and nursing workforce issues are causing challenges for long-term care globally, and therefore, improving the work-related wellbeing and retention of nurses is crucial. As such, gaining a further understanding of the factors that affect work strain in long-term care is important. Previously, the effect of job demands on the wellbeing of nurses has been researched principally by subjective instruments. In this study, we examined the relationship between indirectly measured workday characteristics and perceived stress and time pressure among nurses working in Finnish long-term care (assisted living facilities with 24-hour assistance).

METHODS

A total of 503 nurses from 44 assisted living facilities across Finland completed time measurement surveys and wellbeing questionnaires. The data were linked with client characteristics from the Resident Assessment Instrument register. The relationships between the measured number of care events during the workday, clients' care needs, and the amount of breaktime and perceived stress and time pressure were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression.

RESULTS

Nurses who had more care events and clients with greater care needs were at higher odds of having high stress. More care events and reduced breaktime were associated with high time pressure. Disruptions during the workday were strongly associated with both high stress and time pressure. Last, nurses who were under high stress and time pressure worked more often in teams with lower team autonomy.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings on indirectly measured job demands indicate that dividing the workload equally among nurses through better work division can help reduce the stress and time pressure of nurses in long-term care. In addition, ensuring sufficient breaktime and preventing unnecessary disruptions is important. To help recruit and retain the care workforce, fair management of work that accounts for varying client care needs and workload is needed. In addition, legislative and governance tools, such as staffing level regulation, and further consideration of job demands might aid in reducing the job strain of nurses.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Patients or nurses were not involved in the design of the study, analysis, or interpretation of the results, or in the preparation of the manuscript.

Conceptualizing Sexual Pleasure at Home as a Work-Related Stress Recovery Activity

Job stress is pervasive in today's workforce and has negative implications for employees' mental and physical well-being and job performance. Recovery activities outside of work can reduce strain and improve work outcomes; however, little is known about pleasurable intimate recovery experiences and their influence on work outcomes, even though these experiences are important parts of most people's lives outside of work. The present study examined sexual activity that is shared either with a relationship partner or oneself (masturbation) and how pleasure specifically predicts well-being and work outcomes to induce recovery. Results suggest that pleasurable sexual activity, with a partner or alone, is related to perceived recovery from work stress, job satisfaction, work engagement, and life satisfaction. Moreover, perceived recovery from work mediated the relationship between pleasurable sex and work outcomes. Gender moderated this relationship such that pleasurable sex was a stronger predictor of recovery for women (compared to men) in the context of sex within committed relationship partners (but not masturbation). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Effects of workday characteristics and job demands on recovery from work among Finnish home care nurses: a multi-source cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

Ageing populations and poor care workforce availability are causing increasing job demands for home care nurses across Europe. While recovery from work helps sustain work ability and wellbeing, past research has relied mainly on self-reported measures of health, stressors, and recovery. This study aims to examine how objective and subjective job demands are associated with measured day-time recovery among home care nurses.

METHODS

Heart rate variability recording was conducted for 95 Finnish home care nurses. The study participants documented their work tasks throughout the workday and filled a wellbeing questionnaire. The amount of care time, breaktime, number of different weekly clients, and their care needs were obtained from the survey. The associations between job demands and measured day-time recovery were analysed using multivariate linear regression.

RESULTS

The amount of day-time recovery was on average 75 min. The number of different clients during the workday (e.g., care continuity) and higher care needs of the clients were associated with lower day-time recovery. Additionally, something slightly disrupting the course of the workday was associated with increased recovery.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate that reducing especially the objective job demands (workday characteristics) can contribute to better day-time recovery among home care nurses. To help sustain work ability and improve wellbeing, day-time recovery can be promoted with better work scheduling that supports care continuity and ensures sufficient care resources and support for nurses with many clients or clients with high care needs.

Exploring the Effectiveness of Self-and Other-Focused Happiness: The Moderating Role of Job Resources

Purpose

This paper aims to redefine happiness goals and explore the conditions and mechanisms through which these redefined happiness goals influence work-related outcomes.

Methods

The study developed and validated scales for self-focused happiness and other-focused happiness through exploratory factor analyses of 244 employees and confirmatory factor analyses of 300 employees. The proposed theoretical model was subsequently tested using a time-lagged analysis with data from 556 supervisor-employee dyads.

Results

The findings provide strong evidence for the categorization of happiness goals into self-focused happiness and other-focused happiness. Furthermore, both self-focused and other-focused happiness significantly contribute to work-related vigor, subsequently influencing employee creativity. Additionally, the impact of these happiness goals on vigor and creativity is contingent upon the availability of job resources.

Conclusion

This study highlights the substantial role of self-focused and other-focused happiness in enhancing employee vigor and creativity. However, the extent of these effects depends on the level of available job resources. These outcomes carry notable implications for the fields of positive psychology, positive organizational behavior, and creativity.

Altruistic behaviour decreases agent's unhealthy food intake: Based on the self-determination theory model of vitality

This study explored whether altruistic behaviour would decrease agent's unhealthy food intake, and whether vitality and state self-control would sequentially mediate this effect based on the Self-Determination Theory Model of Vitality. It included 1019 college students in total across three studies. Study 1 was a laboratory experiment. By framing a physical task as a helping behaviour or a neutral experimental task, we examined whether these framed tasks impacted participants' subsequent unhealthy food intake levels. Study 2 was an online investigation measuring the relationship between donation (vs. no donation) behaviour and participant's estimated unhealthy food intake level. Study 3 was an online experiment with a mediation test. By random assignment of conducting a donation behaviour versus a neutral task, we examined whether these behaviours affected participants' vitality, state self-control, and estimated unhealthy food intake levels. In addition, we tested a sequential mediation model with vitality and state self-control as the mediators. Both unhealthy and healthy foods were included in Study 2 and 3. Results showed that altruistic behaviour could decrease agent's unhealthy (but not healthy) food intake, and this effect was sequentially mediated by vitality and state self-control. The findings highlight that altruistic acts may buffer agents against unhealthy eating behaviour.

Craft a job better, recover better? The roles of work–nonwork conflict and work demands

Based on the conservation of resources theory, this two-wave study investigated the mediating role of work-nonwork conflict in the relationship between job crafting and employee recovery experience and examined the moderating role of work demands in this relationship. Participants were 486 employees (39.3% male and 60.7% female) from a medical company in the central region of China who responded to a paper-and-pencil survey twice with a 1-month interval. Regression-based results indicated that job crafting positively predicted recovery experience after work through lower work-nonwork conflict. Furthermore, the association between job crafting and work-nonwork conflict was moderated by work demands, such that the effect was stronger for employees with higher work demands. The present study explains how job crafting may improve employees' after-work recovery experience and addresses whether this process could be more significant for employees with higher work demands. The conclusion has practical implications for improving employee recovery experience.

Energy conservation, minimum steps, and adaptations when needed: A scoping review

Background/objective

Although many therapeutic approaches use energy conservation, only a few effectively report the steps involved. Thus, it is intended to identify energy conservation practices to be organized in flexible and adaptable stages.

Methods

A scoping review was carried out, whose search strategies were applied in seven databases (CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Portal BVS, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) following guidelines by Arksey and O’Malley on the Rayyan software. Searches were carried out from January 2010 to December 2020. Inclusion of refered publications with different study designs, participation of adults with or by demands of energy conservation, joint protection, and control of fatigue and/or pain. Exclusion of productions without an occupational therapist or involving merely pharmacological or surgical therapeutic strategies.

Results

653 articles were identified, after the selection and eligibility steps, 30 articles were full review, 18 articles were included and 635 excluded. Energy conservation studies have been increasingly focusing on neurological and systemic diseases, especially regarding symptoms of fatigue and pain. The findings were arranged in six strategies whose interventions are essentially based on guidelines and setting goals for patients, client-centered approach. Merely supervised interventions are less frequent. The number of sessions is closed, but the duration of treatment is not yet.

Conclusions

The signs of pain and fatigue are confirmed as indicators of energy conservation strategies, this delivery can be condensed from planning and organization, priorities, activity analysis, balance between activity and rest, outsourcing of tasks and physical/environmental adaptation.

Trial Registration, OSF

https://osf.io/rsyq4.

How to Increase Employees' Proactive Vitality Management? Testing the Effect of a Training Intervention

Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources theory, we investigate the effectiveness of an online intervention based on training in energy management strategies using an experimental design. The intervention focused on creating awareness about the importance of energy in completing tasks, shaping the present state, and proactively identifying valuable strategies to manage vitality during work. Additionally, we expected an increase in work-related strategies (i.e., setting a new goal) and a decrease in micro-breaks (i.e., mental and physical). Participants were enrolled voluntarily in the intervention and randomly assigned to the experimental group (N = 42) and the control group (N = 44). Results of the ANCOVA showed that, in the experimental group, the intervention positively impacted changes in proactive vitality management. Furthermore, the results indicated that the participants from the experimental group used fewer physical micro-breaks after the intervention. Additionally, after the training and weekly level, the results showed a decrease in work-related strategies and physical micro-breaks in the experimental group. Thus, organizations could facilitate employees to learn to engage in different energy management strategies according to their preferences.

Alleviating Surgeons' Stress through Listening to Natural Sounds in a Half-Encapsulated Rest Space after an Operation: A Pilot, Longitudinal Field Study

BACKGROUND

Natural sounds are reportedly restorative, but most research has used one-off experiments conducted in artificial conditions. Research based on field experiments is still in its infancy. This study aimed to generate hypotheses on the restorative effects of listening to natural sounds on surgeons, representing professionals working in stressful conditions.

METHODS

Each of four surgeons (two experts and two residents) participated six times in an experiment where they took a 10-min break listening to natural sounds (four times) or without natural sounds (twice) after a surgical operation. We measured their skin conductance level, an indicator of sympathetic arousal, continuously during the break (measurement occasions N = 2520) and assessed their mood using two questionnaires before and after the break (N = 69 and N = 42). We also interviewed them after the break.

RESULTS

Based on statistical Linear Mixed-Effects modeling, we developed two hypotheses for further, more detailed studies: (H1) Listening to natural sounds after an operation improves surgeons' mood. (H2) Inexperienced surgeons' tension persists so long that the effect of natural sounds on their sympathetic arousal is negligible.

CONCLUSIONS

This risk-free, easy-to-use means of stress alleviation through natural sounds could benefit highly-stressed people working indoors.

Needs-based off-job crafting across different life domains and contexts: Testing a novel conceptual and measurement approach

Shaping off-job life is becoming increasingly important for workers to increase and maintain their optimal functioning (i.e., feeling and performing well). Proactively shaping the job domain (referred to as job crafting) has been extensively studied, but crafting in the off-job domain has received markedly less research attention. Based on the Integrative Needs Model of Crafting, needs-based off-job crafting is defined as workers’ proactive and self-initiated changes in their off-job lives, which target psychological needs satisfaction. Off-job crafting is posited as a possible means for workers to fulfill their needs and enhance well-being and performance over time. We developed a new scale to measure off-job crafting and examined its relationships to optimal functioning in different work contexts in different regions around the world (the United States, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Japan, and the United Kingdom). Furthermore, we examined the criterion, convergent, incremental, discriminant, and structural validity evidence of the Needs-based Off-job Crafting Scale using multiple methods (longitudinal and cross-sectional survey studies, an “example generation”-task). The results showed that off-job crafting was related to optimal functioning over time, especially in the off-job domain but also in the job domain. Moreover, the novel off-job crafting scale had good convergent and discriminant validity, internal consistency, and test–retest reliability. To conclude, our series of studies in various countries show that off-job crafting can enhance optimal functioning in different life domains and support people in performing their duties sustainably. Therefore, shaping off-job life may be beneficial in an intensified and continually changing and challenging working life.

Crafting work-nonwork balance involving life domain boundaries: Development and validation of a novel scale across five countries

Ongoing developments, such as digitalization, increased the interference of the work and nonwork life domains, urging many to continuously manage engagement in respective domains. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent home-office regulations further boosted the need for employees to find a good work-nonwork balance, thereby optimizing their health and well-being. Consequently, proactive individual-level crafting strategies for balancing work with other relevant life domains were becoming increasingly important. However, these strategies received insufficient attention in previous research despite their potential relevance for satisfying psychological needs, such as psychological detachment. We addressed this research gap by introducing a new scale measuring crafting for a work-nonwork balance and examining its relevance in job-and life satisfaction, work engagement, subjective vitality, family role and job performance, boundary management and self-rated work-nonwork balance. The Work-Nonwork Balance Crafting Scale was validated in five countries (Austria, Finland, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland), encompassing data from a heterogeneous sample of more than 4,200 employees. In study 1, exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factorial scale structure. Confirmatory factor analysis, test for measurement invariance, and convergent validity were provided in study 2. Replication of confirmatory factor analysis, incremental and criterion validity of the Work-Nonwork Balance Crafting Scale for job and life satisfaction were assessed in study 3. Study 4 displayed criterion validity, test–retest reliability, testing measurement invariance, and applicability of the scale across work cultures. Finally, study 5 delivered evidence for the Work-Nonwork Balance Crafting Scale in predicting work-nonwork balance. The novel Work-Nonwork Balance Crafting Scale captured crafting for the challenging balance between work and nonwork and performed well across several different working cultures in increasingly digitalized societies. Both researchers and practitioners may use this tool to assess crafting efforts to balance both life domains and to study relationships with outcomes relevant to employee health and well-being.

"Give me a break!" A systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of micro-breaks for increasing well-being and performance

Recovery activities during short breaks taken between work tasks are solutions for preventing the impairing effects of accumulated strain. No wonder then that a growing body of scientific literature from various perspectives emerged on this topic. The present meta-analysis is aimed at estimating the efficacy of micro-breaks in enhancing well-being (vigor and fatigue) and performance, as well as in which conditions and for whom are the micro-breaks most effective. We searched the existent literature on this topic and aggregated the existing data from experimental and quasi-experimental studies. The systematic search revealed 19 records, which resulted in 22 independent study samples (N = 2335). Random-effects meta-analyses shown statistically significant but small effects of micro-breaks in boosting vigor (d = .36, p < .001; k = 9, n = 913), reducing fatigue (d = .35, p < .001; k = 9, n = 803), and a non-significant effect on increasing overall performance (d = .16, p = .116; k = 15, n = 1132). Sub-groups analyses on performance types revealed significant effects only for tasks with less cognitive demands. A meta-regression showed that the longer the break, the greater the boost was on performance. Overall, the data support the role of micro-breaks for well-being, while for performance, recovering from highly depleting tasks may need more than 10-minute breaks. Therefore, future studies should focus on this issue.

Customized interventions improved employees' experience of recovery during the workday

BACKGROUND:

There is a lack of research regarding factors promoting recovery during the workday and effective interventions.

OBJECTIVE:

To evaluate how different intervention activities may impact employees’ experiences of recovery at the workplace.

METHODS:

Customized intervention activities based on qualitative results and a participatory approach were integrated among the employees at six primary health care centres (PHCCs; n = 166) during one year. Recovery and workplace factors were measured with a questionnaire at the start and end of intervention, and also in a control group (15 PHCCs; n = 328). Group differences were tested (Chi-2) and explanatory factors compared by logistic regression models.

RESULTS:

The proportion of employees reporting workday recovery increased in the intervention group (19.9%to 29.1%; p = 0.01), whereas the control group showed no significant change. Recovery was explained by self-reflection and reflection with co-workers. After intervention, having influence on work situation, energy-building experience, and opportunity for laughter also contributed significantly to recovery.

CONCLUSIONS:

The results contribute to work recovery research by confirming that a customized intervention may have an impact on employees’ recovery experiences. The study showed that considering the factors of reflection, influence, and companionship can positively impact workplace recovery.

Drammatic breaks: Break recovery experiences as mediators between job demands and affect in the afternoon and evening

The present study focused on within-workday recovery, which has received less scholarly attention than has recovery outside work. We examined six break recovery experiences (detachment, relaxation, autonomy, mastery, meaning and affiliation) as possible mediators between daily emotional job demands, positive and negative affect both in the afternoon and in the evening. We conducted a one-work week diary study (N = 107) among Finnish schoolteachers with three daily measurements per workday. Most participants (88%) were women, and the average age was 50 years. The data were analysed with multilevel path modelling. Regarding daily afternoon affect, both low break detachment and low break meaning mediated the relationship between high daily emotional demands and low afternoon positive affect and high afternoon negative affect. Regarding daily evening affect, only low break meaning mediated the relationship between high daily emotional demands and low evening positive affect. In addition, afternoon positive and negative affect did mediate the relationships between break detachment and meaning and positive and negative evening affect. Our findings offer new insights into the interplay of daily job demands, break recovery experiences and affective well-being. Despite detachment, meaning, which has received limited research attention as a recovery experience, seems to play an important role in within-workday recovery. Our study also suggests that successful break recovery can benefit employees' affective well-being in the evening.

"What did you do this weekend?" Relationships between weekend activities, recovery experiences, and changes in work-related well-being

Recovery refers to the process of replenishing resources that occurs when employees distance themselves from their work, leading to improvements in work-related well-being indicators (WRWB), such as burnout and vigor. Research has shown that weekend activities are related to changes in WRWB and that recovery experiences could mediate these relationships. This study aimed to examine the indirect relationships of recovery activities on changes in burnout and vigor, through weekend recovery experiences. It extends past research by considering a greater number recovery activities and experiences and by controlling for job demands. Two hundred and forty-nine employees from various occupations completed two online surveys before and after the weekend, assessing their WRWB, weekend recovery activities and experiences, and job demands. Structural equation modeling revealed that after controlling for job demands, changes in burnout and vigor were positively predicted by a latent variable-the weekend recovery experience-subjacent to perceptions of detachment, relaxation, mastery, control, and relatedness. In addition, four out of six weekend activities predicted negative (work-related activities) or positive (social, physical, and creative activities) recovery experiences. Additional analyses showed that the recovery experience was a full mediator of the relationships between weekend activities and vigor change. These results confirm the importance of weekend activities and recovery experience for improving WRWB. They contribute to expanding current knowledge on recovery from work, highlighting the importance of considering creative activities and relatedness in future studies.

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.

Being Active during the Lockdown: The Recovery Potential of Physical Activity for Well-Being

To examine the indirect relationships between physical activity, and well-being (i.e., need satisfaction, subjective vitality, and stress) of individuals, through recovery experiences (i.e., detachment from lockdown, relaxation, mastery, and control over leisure time) during the spring 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.

METHODS

405 participants answered an online survey including questions on physical activity, recovery experiences, subjective vitality, perceived stress, and basic psychological needs satisfaction. Structural equation modeling tested a full-mediated model in which physical activity predicted recovery experience, which in turn predicted well-being.

RESULTS

Physical activity was positively related to a latent variable representing recovery experiences, which in turn was positively related to a latent variable representing well-being.

CONCLUSIONS

Physical activity carried out regularly during the COVID-19 lockdown positively predicted well-being through recovery experiences. The study results highlight the importance of maintaining or increasing physical activity during periods when recovery experiences and well-being may be threatened.

Is it possible to gain energy at work? A questionnaire study in primary health care

OBJECTIVES

The area of regenerative work is still close to unexplored. The aim was to explore the possibility for employees to gain energy at work.

METHODS

Questionnaire to all employees (n = 599) from different professions in public and private primary health care centers in one health care district in Sweden. The questionnaire, which had a salutogenic perspective, included information on self-rated health, psychosocial work environment and experiences, recovery, social climate, and energy. Having an energy-building experience was defined by a positive response to two combined questions regarding energy at work. Analyses were performed with bivariate correlation and multiple logistic regression.

RESULTS

The response rate was 84%. Health and energy correlated positively (r = 0.54). In total, 44.5% of the employees reported having an energy-building experience. Predictors for having an energy-building experience were recovery [positive odds ratio (POR) = 2.78], autonomy (POR = 2.26), positive workplace characteristics (POR = 2.09), and internal work experiences (POR = 1.88).

CONCLUSIONS

The results support the hypothesis that it is possible to gain energy at work, an area that is still close to unexplored. There is a high correlation between energy and health. Employees' energy-building experiences relate to well-being at work and correlates to recovery, autonomy, positive workplace characteristics, and positive internal work experiences. This knowledge can help in improving future work environment development.

Technology-assisted supplemental work, psychological detachment, and employee well-being: A daily diary study

Information and communication technologies facilitate connectivity to work-related matters after official working hours. Therefore, more and more employees engage in technology-assisted supplemental work (TASW) during recovery time. However, research on the association between TASW and well-being has shown mixed results. To shed further light on this relationship, we tested a moderated mediation model. Drawing upon the extended stressor-detachment model (Sonnentag and Fritz, 2015), we proposed that psychological detachment mediates the relationship between TASW and well-being (i.e. affect and vigor). Further, we expected appraisal to moderate the relationship between TASW and psychological detachment, as well as cognitive coping to moderate the relationship between psychological detachment and well-being. To test these hypotheses, we analyzed daily diary data from 100 employees. As hypothesized, daily psychological detachment after hours mediated the positive association between daily TASW and daily negative affect at bedtime. Contrary to expectations, daily TASW was not significantly related to daily positive affect at bedtime and daily vigor in the next morning. Additionally, we found no support for the moderating roles of appraisal and cognitive coping. These results suggest that TASW can be associated with negative well-being states via impaired recovery, but that further studies are needed to explore the ambiguous outcomes of TASW. We discuss practical implications and future research avenues regarding individual differences in the experience of TASW.

Benefits of Psychological Detachment From Work: Does Autonomous Work Motivation Play a Role?

Research has shown that psychological detachment from work during non-work time is beneficial for various aspects of employee well-being and job performance. However, it is uncertain whether psychological detachment is equally important to all. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether psychological detachment is less important for employees who experience autonomous motivation for their job. The study was conducted in two different samples of knowledge workers in Norway. Latent profile analysis was used to identify different subgroups within the samples. In addition, the BCH method was used to examine possible differences between the profiles on distal outcomes. In both samples, two distinct profiles were found: "Lower involvement employees" (Low-IE; higher detachment and lower autonomous regulation) and "Higher involvement employees" (High-IE; lower detachment and higher autonomous regulation). The results revealed that the High-IE profile was significantly higher in positive affect, life satisfaction, work effort, and work quality, while significantly lower on emotional exhaustion compared with Low-IE. These results indicate that being low in detachment from work does not seem to be detrimental when combined with high levels of autonomous motivation. The study contributes to knowledge about the benefits of unwinding from work for employees with different motivational profiles.

What makes a good work break? Off-job and on-job recovery as predictors of employee health

Recovery from work today seems to be crucial for health care employees' health, so it is important to uncover ways how to facilitate and improve adequate recovery from work. Focusing on the recovery concept of detachment from work, this study investigated associations between detachment after work and during work breaks and individual health among health care employees from a general hospital in the Netherlands. An online cross-sectional survey study was conducted comprising a sample of 368 health care employees of different departments. Controlling for demographics in hierarchical regression analyses, results showed that when health care employees experienced more cognitive detachment after work, they reported less concentration problems. Second, when employees experienced more emotional detachment after work, they reported less feelings of emotional exhaustion, less depressive feelings, and less sleep problems. Finally, in case employees experienced more physical detachment after work, they reported less concentration problems, less feelings of emotional exhaustion, less sleep problems and less physical health problems. No significant associations were found for detachment during work breaks. In conclusion, findings add to current recovery research showing that detachment after work is an important predictor for health care employees' health.

Interventions to enhance recovery in healthy workers; a scoping review

Background

Faster recovery from work may help to prevent work-related ill health.

Aims

To provide a preliminary assessment of the range and nature of interventions that aim to improve recovery from cognitive and physical work.

Methods

A scoping review to examine the range and nature of the evidence, to identify gaps in the evidence base and to provide input for systematic reviews. We searched for workplace intervention studies that aimed at enhancing recovery. We used an iterative method common in qualitative research to obtain an overview of study elements, including intervention content, design, theory, measurements, effects and cost-effectiveness.

Results

We found 28 studies evaluating seven types of interventions mostly using a randomized controlled study design. For person-directed interventions, we found relaxation techniques, training of recovery experiences, promotion of physical activity and stress management. For work-directed interventions, there were participatory changes, work-break schedules and task variation. Most interventions were based on the conservation of resources and affect-regulation theories, none were based on the effort-recovery theory. The need for recovery (NfR) and the recovery experiences questionnaires (REQ) were used most often. Study authors reported a beneficial effect of the intervention in 14 of 26 published studies. None of the studies that used the NfR scale found a beneficial effect, whereas studies that used the REQ showed beneficial effects. Three studies indicated that interventions were not cost-effective.

Conclusions

Feasible and possibly effective interventions are available for improving recovery from cognitive and physical workload. Systematic reviews are needed to determine their effectiveness.

The design and development of a hybrid off-job crafting intervention to enhance needs satisfaction, well-being and performance: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background

Employees dealing with job demands such as high workload and permeable work-life boundaries could benefit from bottom-up well-being strategies such as off-job crafting. We have developed a hybrid off-job crafting intervention to promote off-job crafting, a proactive pursuit to adjust one’s off-job time activities to satisfy one’s psychological needs. This hybrid intervention contains both on-site (two trainings) and online elements (smartphone app) to enhance employees’ well-being and performance within different life domains.

Methods

The study is designed as a randomized controlled trial with an intervention group and a waitlist control group. The study population will be Finnish knowledge workers. The intervention program focuses on six psychological needs (detachment, relaxation, autonomy, mastery, meaning, and affiliation) proposed by the DRAMMA model. The intervention will consist of the following components: 1) an on-site off-job crafting training, 2) an individual off-job crafting plan for the four-week intervention period, 3) Everydaily smartphone app usage, and 4) a training session for reflection. The study outcomes are assessed with online questionnaires once at baseline, weekly during the intervention period and twice after the intervention (two-week and six-week follow-up). Moreover, during the second training session, participants will participate in a process evaluation to shed light on the mechanisms that can affect the effectiveness of the intervention.

Discussion

We expect that the intervention will stimulate off-job crafting behaviors, which may in turn increase well-being and performance in both non-work and work domains during and after the intervention (compared to baseline and to the control group). The intervention may provide employees with additional resources to deal with various stressors in life. Furthermore, this off-job crafting intervention could also offer performance benefits for the employers such as increased organizational citizenship behaviors among employees.

Trial registration

The Netherlands Trial Register (NTR): NL8219, December 9, 2019. Registered retrospectively. https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/8219

Do vacations alter the connection between stress and cardiovascular activity? The effects of a planned vacation on the relationship between weekly stress and ambulatory heart rate

Objective: To examine how the association between psychological stress and ambulatory heart rate varies in the weeks before and after a planned vacation. We hypothesized that the impact of stress on heart rate would weaken in the weeks leading up to the vacation and return to normal levels in the weeks following the vacation.Method: Fifty-four workers eligible for paid vacation time were recruited; stress ratings obtained via weekly surveys and ambulatory heart rate readings obtained via a wrist-worn consumer device were collected before and after the vacation.Results: A statistically significant interaction was observed between weekly stress and the time period leading up to the vacation on ambulatory heart rate (b = -0.51, SE = 0.21, 95% CI = -0.91, -0.10, p = 0.01). A plot of predicted values demonstrated that the relationship between weekly stress and heart rate was stronger when the vacation was further away in the future and imparted less of an effect as the vacation approached.Conclusions: Vacations may have physical health benefits that extend beyond the vacation experience by reducing the association between stress and ambulatory heart rate in the weeks leading up to a planned vacation.

The Effects of Workplace Rest Breaks on Health Problems Related to Long Working Hours and Shift Work among Male Apartment Janitors in Korea

Background

Rest breaks at work are reported to reduce fatigue and job stress. Apartment janitors in Korea who perform night shift work and work long hours can be exposed to various health problems (HPs). However, few studies have evaluated relationships between their rest breaks and HPs. This study was conducted to examine the relationships between long working hours, shift work, and insufficient rest breaks and HPs among Korean apartment janitors.

Methods

Data on 1,212 selected male apartment janitors were obtained from the 3rd and 4th Korean Working Conditions Surveys. Demographic and occupational characteristics were collected using self-reported questionnaires. Rest breaks at work were classified as "sufficient" or "insufficient." Long working hours were considered as working more than 60 hours per week. Zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression was performed to investigate the effects of shift work and long working hours on HPs and the effects of rest breaks on relationships between HPs and long working hours and shift work.

Results

Among those with insufficient rest breaks at work, significant associations were found between long working hours and the risk of HPs [odds ratio (OR) = 1.489; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.038-2.136] and work-related HPs (WRHPs) [OR 1.621; 95% CI = 1.156-2.272], and between shift work and HPs [OR = 1.603; 95% CI = 1.084-2.372]. These relationships became nonsignificant when sufficient rest breaks were provided.

Conclusion

It is important to provide breaks at work to reduce HPs because of long working hours and shift work among aged workers such as apartment janitors.

Relationships between recovery experiences and well-being among younger and older teachers

Purpose

The study had three aims. We investigated, first, how six recovery experiences (i.e., detachment, relaxation, control, mastery, meaning, and affiliation) during off-job time suggested by the DRAMMA model (Newman et al. in J Happiness Stud 15(3):555–578. 10.1007/s10902-013-9435-x, 2014) are related to well-being (i.e., vitality, life satisfaction, and work ability). Second, we examined how age related to these outcomes, and third, we investigated whether age moderated the relationships between recovery experiences and well-being outcomes.

Methods

A sample of 909 Finnish teachers responded to an electronic questionnaire (78% women, average age 51 years). The data were analyzed with moderated hierarchical regression analyses.

Results

Detachment from work, relaxation, control, and mastery were associated with higher vitality. Detachment, relaxation, meaning, and affiliation were related to higher life satisfaction. Older age was related to lower work ability, but not to vitality or life satisfaction. Older teachers benefited more from control and mastery during off-job time than did younger teachers in terms of vitality, whereas younger teachers benefited more from relaxation in terms of all well-being outcomes.

Conclusions

Detachment, relaxation, control, mastery, meaning, and affiliation during off-job time were related to higher well-being, supporting the DRAMMA model. Age moderated the relationships between control, mastery, and relaxation and vitality and life satisfaction. The role of aging in recovery from work needs further research.

An Integrated Literature Review of Time-on-Task Effects With a Pragmatic Framework for Understanding and Improving Decision-Making in Multidisciplinary Oncology Team Meetings

Multidisciplinary oncology team meetings (MDMs) or tumor boards, like other MDMs in healthcare, facilitate the incorporation of diverse clinical expertise into treatment planning for patients. Decision-making (DM) in relation to treatment planning in MDMs is carried out repeatedly until all patients put forward for discussion have been reviewed. Despite continuing financial pressure and staff shortages, the workload of cancer MDMs, and therefore meeting duration continue to increase (up to 5 h) with patients often receiving less than 2 min of team input. This begs the question as to whether the current set-up is conducive to achieve optimal DM, which these multi-specialty teams were set out to achieve in the first place. Much of what it is known, however, about the effects of prolonged cognitive activity comes from various subfields of science, leaving a gap in applied knowledge relating to complex healthcare environments. The objective of this review was thus to synthesize theory, evidence and clinical practice in order to bring the current understanding of prolonged, repeated DM into the context of cancer MDMs. We explore how and why time spent on a task affects performance in such settings, and what strategies can be employed by cancer teams to counteract negative effects and improve quality and safety. In the process, we propose a pragmatic framework of repeated DM that encompasses the strength, the process and the cost-benefit models of self-control as applied to real-world contexts of cancer MDMs. We also highlight promising research avenues for closing the research-to-practice gap. Theoretical and empirical evidence reviewed in this paper suggests that over prolonged time spent on a task, repeated DM is cognitively taxing, leading to performance detriments. This deterioration is associated with various cognitive-behavioral pitfalls, including decreased attentional capacity and reduced ability to effectively evaluate choices, as well as less analytical DM and increased reliance on heuristics. As a short to medium term improvement for ensuring safety, consistently high quality of care for all patients, and the clinician wellbeing, future research and interventions in cancer MDMs should address time-on-task effects with a combination of evidence-based cognitive strategies. We propose in this review multiple measures that range from food intake, short breaks, rewards, and mental exercises. As a long term imperative, however, capacity within cancer services needs to be reviewed as well as how best to plan workforce development and service delivery models to achieve population coverage whilst maintaining safety and quality of care. Hence the performance detriments that arise in healthcare workers as a result of the intensity (time spent on a task) and complexity of the workload require not only more research, but also wider regulatory focus and recognition.

Daily Use of Energy Management Strategies and Occupational Well-being: The Moderating Role of Job Demands

We examine the relationships among employees’ use of energy management strategies and two occupational well-being outcomes: job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Based on conservation of resources theory, it was hypothesized that employees with high job demands would benefit more from using energy management strategies (i.e., including prosocial, organizing, and meaning-related strategies), compared to employees with low job demands. We tested this proposition using a quantitative diary study. Fifty-four employees provided data twice daily across one work week (on average, 7 daily entries). Supporting the hypotheses, prosocial energy management was positively related to job satisfaction. Moreover, employees with high job demands were less emotionally exhausted when using prosocial strategies. Contrary to predictions, when using organizing strategies, employees with low job demands had higher job satisfaction and lower emotional exhaustion. Under high job demands, greater use of organizing strategies was associated with lower job satisfaction and higher emotional exhaustion. Finally, use of meaning-related strategies was associated with higher emotional exhaustion when job demands were low. With this research, we position energy management as part of a resource investment process aimed at maintaining and improving occupational well-being. Our findings show that this resource investment will be more or less effective depending on the type of strategy used and the existing drain on resources (i.e., job demands). This is the first study to examine momentary effects of distinct types of work-related energy management strategies on occupational well-being.

Workaholism and daily energy management at work: associations with self-reported health and emotional exhaustion

Adequate energy management during the working day is essential for employees to remain healthy and vital. Research has investigated which energy management strategies are frequently used and which are most beneficial, but the results are inconclusive and research is still scarce. We aim to extend the current knowledge by considering individual differences in terms of working compulsively (as key feature of workaholism) with regard to energy management. Data were collected with an online survey in 1,253 employees from 12 different organizations. Employees' levels of compulsiveness were expected to relate to 1) employees' choice of which energy management strategies to use, and 2) the benefits (improved health and alleviated emotional exhaustion) of the chosen strategy. The results partly supported the hypotheses in that compulsiveness was associated with more frequent use of work-related energy management strategies. However, compulsiveness was not related to less frequent use of micro-breaks. Energy management (particularly work-related and physical micro-break strategies) improved health and alleviated emotional exhaustion regardless of compulsiveness levels, whereas private micro-break strategies were only beneficial for employees high in compulsiveness.

WittyFit-Live Your Work Differently: Study Protocol for a Workplace-Delivered Health Promotion

BACKGROUND

Morbidity before retirement has a huge cost, burdening both public health and workplace finances. Multiple factors increase morbidity such as stress at work, sedentary behavior or low physical activity, and poor nutrition practices. Nowadays, the digital world offers infinite opportunities to interact with workers. The WittyFit software was designed to understand holistic issues of workers by promoting individualized behavior changes at the workplace.

OBJECTIVE

The shorter term feasibility objective is to demonstrate that effective use of WittyFit will increase well-being and improve health-related behaviors. The mid-term objective is to demonstrate that WittyFit improves economic data of the companies such as productivity and benefits. The ultimate objective is to increase life expectancy of workers.

METHODS

This is an exploratory interventional cohort study in an ecological situation. Three groups of participants will be purposefully sampled: employees, middle managers, and executive managers. Four levels of engagement are planned for employees: commencing with baseline health profiling from validated questionnaires; individualized feedback based on evidence-based medicine; support for behavioral change; and formal evaluation of changes in knowledge, practices, and health outcomes over time. Middle managers will also receive anonymous feedback on problems encountered by employees, and executive top managers will have indicators by division, location, department, age, seniority, gender and occupational position. Managers will be able to introduce specific initiatives in the workplace. WittyFit is based on two databases: behavioral data (WittyFit) and medical data (WittyFit Research). Statistical analyses will incorporate morbidity and well-being data. When a worker leaves a workplace, the company documents one of three major explanations: retirement, relocation to another company, or premature death. Therefore, WittyFit will have the ability to include mortality as an outcome. WittyFit will evolve with the waves of connected objects further increasing its data accuracy. Ethical approval was obtained from the ethics committee of the University Hospital of Clermont-Ferrand, France.

RESULTS

WittyFit recruitment and enrollment started in January 2016. First publications are expected to be available at the beginning of 2017.

CONCLUSIONS

The name WittyFit came from Witty and Fitness. The concept of WittyFit reflects the concept of health from the World Health Organization: being spiritually and physically healthy. WittyFit is a health-monitoring, health-promoting tool that may improve the health of workers and health of companies. WittyFit will evolve with the waves of connected objects further increasing its data accuracy with objective measures. WittyFit may constitute a powerful epidemiological database. Finally, the WittyFit concept may extend healthy living into the general population.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02596737; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02596737 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6pM5toQ7Y).

A Meta-Analysis on Antecedents and Outcomes of Detachment from Work

Detachment from work has been proposed as an important non-work experience helping employees to recover from work demands. This meta-analysis (86 publications, k = 91 independent study samples, N = 38,124 employees) examined core antecedents and outcomes of detachment in employee samples. With regard to outcomes, results indicated average positive correlations between detachment and self-reported mental (i.e., less exhaustion, higher life satisfaction, more well-being, better sleep) and physical (i.e., lower physical discomfort) health, state well-being (i.e., less fatigue, higher positive affect, more intensive state of recovery), and task performance (small to medium sized effects). However, average relationships between detachment and physiological stress indicators and work motivation were not significant while associations with contextual performance and creativity were significant, but negative. Concerning work characteristics, as expected, job demands were negatively related and job resources were positively related to detachment (small sized effects). Further, analyses revealed that person characteristics such as negative affectivity/neuroticism (small sized effect) and heavy work investment (medium sized effect) were negatively related to detachment whereas detachment and demographic variables (i.e., age and gender) were not related. Moreover, we found a medium sized average negative relationship between engagement in work-related activities during non-work time and detachment. For most of the examined relationships heterogeneity of effect sizes was moderate to high. We identified study design, samples' gender distribution, and affective valence of work-related thoughts as moderators for some of these aforementioned relationships. The results of this meta-analysis point to detachment as a non-work (recovery) experience that is influenced by work-related and personal characteristics which in turn is relevant for a range of employee outcomes.