Recovery achieved from social and non-social off-job activities : the role of extraversion

• Main Author: Yip, Rachel Yan Yi
• Other Authors: Eunae Cho
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/69577
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The far-reaching detrimental effects of work stress highlight the importance of understanding factors that augment recovery from work stress, in order to mitigate the negative impacts of stress. This study explores the relationship between extraversion and recovery achieved from social and non-social activities during non-work time. Based on the previous research on personality, it is hypothesized that more extraverted individuals will spend a larger proportion of their non-work time in social (vs. non-social) off-job activities (Hypothesis 1), attain better recovery experiences from social (vs. non-social) off-job activities (Hypothesis 2), and experience better health outcomes of lower fatigue and improved mood after social (vs. non-social) off-job activities (Hypothesis 3). Survey data were collected via an online survey from 85 employees. Results revealed that extraversion is unrelated to time-spent in social and non-social off-job activities. The general trend indicated that more extraverted individuals reported better recovery experiences and health outcomes after engaging in social (vs. non-social) off-job activities. This study provides preliminary evidence on the role of extraversion in recovery. Although more extraverted individuals experience better recovery from social (vs. non-social) off-job activities, this is not reflected in the time spent in various off-job activities. Future research should explore the cause for the seemingly inappropriate allocation of time. Keywords: extraversion, recovery, recovery experiences, fatigue, mood, social off-job activities, non-social off-job activities