Description
The topic of recovery from work has gained increasing attention in research. Feeling recovered aids in building personal resources, and predicts positive employee outcomes such as work engagement and individual well-being, among others. This study examined four types of recovery activities: community involvement, leisure, personal development, and high-duty tasks, and their relationship to work engagement and employee physical complaints. Given increasing globalization and growing recognition of the cultural embeddedness of behavior, it is crucial to recognize that individual employee outcomes may depend on cultural context. Thus, this research also examined the effects of culture on recovery activity preferences and moderating effects of cultural values on the relationship between recovery activities and work engagement and physical health complaints. The current study utilized data from the sixth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) and nation-level cultural values scores reported in the literature. The final sample size included 35,341 employees ranging from 639 in Greece to 2,757 in Spain. Participation in each recovery activity was measured with six items, each item relating to a different activity. Work engagement was measured using three items and physical complaints using 15 items. Results indicated that recovery activities differ in their relationships to work engagement and physical health complaints. Participating in personal development, volunteering, childcare, household tasks, and physical, social and low-effort activities were all positively related to employee work engagement. However, political participation and eldercare were unrelated to work engagement. Physical, social, and low effort activities were associated with fewer health complaints. However, participating in political activities and high duty tasks was related to poorer health outcomes. Moreover, volunteering and personal development were not related to health complaints. Finally, none of the predicted effects of culture were supported in this study. This research contributes to a more detailed understanding of the relationships between specific recovery activities, work engagement, and physical health. Furthermore, future research can build upon these results to investigate the topic of recovery cross-culturally.
