12-11-2024
In our paper, “Have Your Cake and Eat It Too? Understanding Leisure-Work Synergizing and Its Impact on Employee Thriving,” my coauthor Jessica Rodell from the University of Georgia and I explore the concept of leisure-work synergizing. We explain that leisure-work synergizing involves structuring leisure activities to include elements of the work domain, aiming to enhance work skills and competencies.
Examples of leisure-work synergizing include:
We found that engaging in these “not quite work, not quite leisure” activities helps employees build confidence and thrive at work. Additionally, we distinguish leisure-work synergizing from related but distinct concepts.
This chart highlights how leisure-work synergizing is a unique, proactive and blended practice — in contrast to other topics like work recovery and traditional employee development — to improve employee well-being beyond the confines of the 9-to-5 workday.
| Definition | Example | Motivation | Domain | Reactive Proactive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leisure-work synergizing | The practice of intentionally structuring leisure domain activities to have elements from the work domain in an attempt to increase cross-domain skills or competencies. (Ad hoc) | Outside of work, watch an interesting motivational TED Talk because it helps me enhance my work mastery | Enjoy leisure time outside of work; build work skills and competencies | Blended leisure and work | Proactive |
| Leisure crafting | The proactive pursuit of leisure activities targeted at goal setting, human connection, learning and personal development (Petrou & Bakker, 2016) | Practice solving a Rubik’s cube to keep myself mentally stimulated during my free time | Compensate for basic human needs unfulfilled by job tasks |
Leisure | Proactive |
| Mastery experience | Challenging off-job experiences contributing to recovery that provide opportunities for learning and success and the elimination of strain reactions. (Sonnentag & Fritz, 2007) | Learn a new language outside of work | Facilitate recovery from work stressors | Leisure | Reactive |
| Job crafting | Self-initiated change behaviors that employees engage in with the aim to align their jobs with their own preferences, motives, and passions (Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001; see also Berg & Dutton, 2008) | Take on a mentee at work to make more meaningful connections | Compensate for basic human needs unfulfilled by job tasks |
Work | Proactive |
| Employee development | The expansion of an individual’s capacity to function effectively in his or her present or future job and work organization (Jacobs & Washington, 2003) | Complete professional certification to position oneself for better performance and future opportunities | Build work skills and competencies | Work | Proactive |
Kate Zipay is an Assistant Professor of Management in organizational behavior and human resources at Purdue’s Mitch Daniels School of Business. Her research examines the influence of life outside of work on employee emotions, attitudes, and contemporary issues of justice on employee outcomes.
