Playful leisure design: A study on the intersection of play and leisure with dual-earner couples

Abstract

Can employees be playful at work and during their leisure time? If so, what are the consequences for their eating habits and self-care engagement? Intrigued by these questions. and integrating self-determination and proactivity theories, we develop and elucidate a couple-dyadic model to examine the mechanism (why) and the contextual conditions (when) of the impact of playful work design on the focal employee's and his/her partner's health-related outcomes. As such. we theorize and develop the concept of 'playful leisure design' that explains the gist of our conceptual model. Our pilot study rigorously validated the construct validity of PLD. Following this, we collected daily survey data from 65 dual-earner couples over 15 working days who are all employed full-time across the USA. Deploying the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, our results reveal that playful work design is positively related to healthy eating motives and self-care through playful leisure design. Moreover. the positive relationship between the playful leisure design and the healthy eating motives is moderated by the employee's motivation for healthiness. Our study shifts conversations in the work- leisure intersection and highlights the role of a new bottom-up work redesign tool for managers.

Speakers

Professor Rofcanin works as a professor of human resource management and organisational psychology at the University of Bath School of Management. He earned his PhD from the University of Warwick. Warwick Business School. and his BA from Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey. He is currently an AE at the Journal of Management Studies and Human Relations and sits on the EB of the major journals including Journal of Organizational Behavior, HRM, HRMJ, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Pscyhology and Journal of Vocational Behavior. His research focuses on the intersection of work- and nonwork life, with implications for employees, employers, and organisations. The overall theme of his research adopts a critical lens to the bright and the dark side of various HR practices and proactive work behaviours. Some of his current projects focus on leisure crafting, playful work design, idiosyncratic deals, proactivity, well-being, exhaustion, burnout, and flexible work practices. He has published across a wide range of prestigious journals including Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management Studies, Human Relations, Human Resource Management (USA), Human Resource Management Journal, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, and Journal of Vocational Behavior. He has edited three books on (a) idiosyncratic work deals, (b) human flourishing, and (c) healthy relations at work. He sits on the editorial boards of major peer-reviewed journals.