A Diary Study on Anticipated Leisure Time, Morning Recovery, and Employees’ Work Engagement

Sebastian Seibel and Judith Volmer
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Sebastian Seibel: Work and Organizational Psychology Group, Otto-Friedrich University of Bamberg, 96047 Bamberg, Germany
Judith Volmer: Work and Organizational Psychology Group, Otto-Friedrich University of Bamberg, 96047 Bamberg, Germany

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 18, 1-14

Abstract: Recovery during yesterday’s leisure time is beneficial for morning recovery, and morning recovery fosters employees’ work engagement, a positive, motivational state associated with job performance. We extended existing research by assuming that both, morning recovery (considered a resource) and anticipated leisure time (considered an anticipated resource gain), relate to work engagement. Anticipated leisure time comprises two constructs: general anticipation of leisure time, which refers to employees’ cognitive evaluation of their entire upcoming leisure time, and pleasant anticipation of a planned leisure activity, which describes a positive affective reaction because of one specific, upcoming leisure activity. We suggested that employees with high pleasant anticipation generate more thoughts of a planned leisure activity (ToPLA), which may distract them from their work, reducing their work engagement. A diary study over five days showed that morning recovery and general anticipation of leisure time were positively related to work engagement. Furthermore, employees with higher pleasant anticipation of a planned leisure activity reported more ToPLA. In contrast to our expectations, neither pleasant anticipation nor ToPLA was related to work engagement. In sum, this study introduced anticipated leisure time as a novel antecedent of work engagement and demonstrated that anticipated resource gains are important for high work engagement.

Keywords: morning recovery; leisure time; pleasant anticipation; work engagement; thoughts of a planned leisure activity; diary study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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