Job stressors and the pursuit of sport activities: a day-level perspective

J Occup Health Psychol. 2009 Apr;14(2):165-81. doi: 10.1037/a0014953.

Abstract

This article addresses the relation between day-specific experiences of job stressors and the pursuit of off-job activities. Following the limited-resources model of self-regulation, the authors proposed that job stressors and long working hours are negatively related to pursuit of sport activities after work because, after stressful days, employees have no resources left for initiating and persisting in effortful behaviors such as sport. Routines for off-job activities were hypothesized to be positively related to the pursuit of sport activities after work. Seventy-eight police employees completed a daily survey over 5 working days and indicated that they perceive sport to be highly useful for recovery. Random coefficient modeling showed that job stressors (particularly situational constraints) encountered on a specific day were negatively related to self-regulatory resources and to the amount of time spent on sport activities after work, whereas the relation with low-effort activities was positive. Thus, after a stressful day when an effective recovery activity such as sport is highly needed, persons tend to engage less in such an activity.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Female
  • Germany
  • Health Behavior*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mental Fatigue / etiology
  • Mental Fatigue / psychology
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Occupational Diseases / prevention & control*
  • Occupational Diseases / psychology
  • Police
  • Social Control, Informal*
  • Sports*
  • Stress, Psychological / prevention & control*
  • Stress, Psychological / psychology