Stress at Work and Exercise during Leisure Time

Abstract

This dissertation investigated the relationship between job stressors and exercise during leisure time. Furthermore, this dissertation examined benefits of exercise for employees’ work lives. Exercise protects against stress-induced health complaints and promotes well-being. Therefore, exercise during leisure time can provide valuable contributions to employees’ health and well-being, especially when facing stressful working conditions. However, the majority of research suggested that employees tend to reduce exercise when facing high degrees of job stressors. Nevertheless, results of studies investigating the relationship between job stressors and exercise are inconsistent. Thus, some studies demonstrated no association between job stressors and exercise, others reported a positive association. Therefore, this dissertation extended the research on the relationship between job stressors and exercise by investigating moderating variables. More precisely, this dissertation examined employees’ exercise motives as moderating variables. Vast literature reports detrimental effects of job stressors on health behaviors such as exercise. Therefore, this dissertation, further, investigated the direct consequences of job stressors on exercise.Moreover, this dissertation extended research on the benefits of exercise by investigating the role of exercise during leisure time for employees’ work lives. Previous research demonstrated that individuals who exercise report better health and well-being. However, only few studies investigated if employees report better well-being at bedtime after days they engaged in exercise after work. Thus, this dissertation contributed to research on day-specific fluctuations in affective states. Hardly any study examined lagged effects of exercise from one day on the next day. Therefore, this dissertation addressed the research question if and under which circumstances employees report improvements in personal resources after days they exercised after work. Affective states and personal resources are crucial antecedents of job outcomes, such as job performance, job satisfaction, and motivation. Therefore, this dissertation addressed this research gap and examined the benefits of exercise for employees’ work lives.Study 1 investigated the moderating role of exercise motives in the relationship between day-specific job stressors and day-specific exercise after work. Further, Study 1 examined the effects of day-specific exercise after work on day-specific positive affective states at bedtime. Data was gathered with pocket computers over five consecutive working days. One hundred and twenty employees answered daily surveys after work and at bedtime. Results demonstrated that day-specific job stressors did not directly relate to day-specific exercise after work. However, the relationship between day-specific job stressors and day-specific exercise was moderated by exercise motives (social recognition, appearance, strength and endurance). More precisely, employees indicating strong exercise motives engaged in exercise after work more often after days with high degrees of job stressors compared to days with low degrees of job stressors. Employees indicating weak exercise motives showed no relationship between job stressors and exercise. Moreover, exercise after work showed beneficial effects on positive affective states before bedtime.Study 2 examined the realization of the New Year’s resolution to exercise regularly in the forthcoming year. Autonomous exercise orientation was hypothesized as beneficial for the realization of New Year’s resolutions to exercise, whereas job stressors were expected to hinder the realization of New Year’s resolutions to exercise. In the beginning of the New Year and three months later, 214 employees answered online surveys. As predicted, results showed that autonomous exercise orientation was positively associated with the realization of New Year’s resolutions to exercise. Job stressors did not directly relate to the realization of New Year’s resolutions to exercise but reduced the positive association between autonomous exercise orientation and the realization of New Year’s resolutions to exercise.Study 3 focused on the interaction between day-specific exercise and sleep duration on next day’s personal resources (resilience, pathway thinking, and optimism). Further, Study 3 investigated the relationship between day-specific personal resources on day-specific emotional exhaustion after work. One hundred and forty-five employees answered online surveys over five consecutive working days after work and before bedtime. Results demonstrated that exercise and sleep duration interacted with each other and positively related to personal resources on the next working day. More precisely, when employees exercised after work and slept longer than on average during the night, personal resources on the next working day were enhanced. Moreover, day-specific personal resources negatively related to day-specific emotional exhaustion after work.To conclude, my dissertation extended previous research in occupational health psychology by identifying exercise motives as moderating variables in the relationship between job stressors and exercise during leisure time. Even when degrees of job stressors were high, employees successfully engaged in exercise after work, when their exercise motives were strong. Interestingly, job stressors did not directly relate to exercise. Job stressors interacted with third variables, and, thereby, unfolded their associations with exercise. Moreover, my dissertation extended research on the positive effects of exercise by providing evidence that exercise after work promotes positive affect at bedtime and, furthermore, may foster employees’ personal resources on the next working day.