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CS Dissertation 5-10.pdf (1.01 MB)
ETD Abstract Container
Abstract Header
Too tired to escape tiredness: Work stress undermines healthy leisure decision-making
Author Info
Smith, Claire E.
Permalink:
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1620131359548271
Abstract Details
Year and Degree
2021, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, Psychology/Industrial-Organizational.
Abstract
Scholars have recently noted that work stress paradoxically requires more and predicts less recovery from that stress. As a result, the people who most need to recover from work stress have the most difficulty doing so. This recovery paradox is both practically pressing and theoretically underexplored. The present study aims to clarify the timing of this paradox (i.e., whether it is the result of daily stress, chronic stress, or both), its underlying mechanisms, and potential solutions. Taking an integrated resource theory and decision-making theory approach, the current model positions personal resources (i.e., energy and negative affect) and leisure decision-making as key mechanisms explaining the recovery paradox. The role of chronic work stress and leisure habits in these processes are also explored. Diary data was collected from working adults (N=83 participants) twice per day, after work and before bed, over the course of two work weeks (N=693 survey days). Multilevel analyses did not support the original model focused on the mechanisms of depleted energy, unsystematic leisure decision-making, and low leisure mental and physical activeness; however, an alternative model was supported, connecting work stress to poor recovery via negative affect, unsystematic leisure decision-making, and low leisure diversity (i.e., low variety in types of leisure activities). Leisure diversity and physical activity were identified as strategies that seem to facilitate recovery even, and perhaps especially, for the highly stressed. Overall, the present results suggest that the recovery paradox (a) manifests quickly but is exacerbated by chronic work stress, (b) may be explained by affective and decision-making mechanisms, and (c) may be combatted with diverse and physically active leisure. These findings provide theoretical detail to the recovery paradox, a new and key observation in the work stress recovery literature, and provide practical recommendations for stressed workers who both need to and struggle to effectively recover.
Committee
Clare Barratt (Committee Co-Chair)
Margaret Brooks (Committee Co-Chair)
Joseph Furgal (Other)
Scott Highhouse (Committee Member)
Dara Musher-Eizenman (Committee Member)
Pages
140 p.
Subject Headings
Psychology
Keywords
Work stress
;
recovery
;
recovery paradox
;
leisure
;
health
;
well-being
;
decision making
;
conservation of resources
;
dual systems theory
;
energy
;
negative affect
;
physical activity
;
leisure diversity
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Refworks
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RIS
Mendeley
Citations
Smith, C. E. (2021).
Too tired to escape tiredness: Work stress undermines healthy leisure decision-making
[Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1620131359548271
APA Style (7th edition)
Smith, Claire.
Too tired to escape tiredness: Work stress undermines healthy leisure decision-making.
2021. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation.
OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center
, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1620131359548271.
MLA Style (8th edition)
Smith, Claire. "Too tired to escape tiredness: Work stress undermines healthy leisure decision-making." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1620131359548271
Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)
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Document number:
bgsu1620131359548271
Download Count:
388
Copyright Info
© 2021, some rights reserved.
Too tired to escape tiredness: Work stress undermines healthy leisure decision-making by Claire E. Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.