Daily renewal for job performance: understanding the role of recovery, sleep, resilience, and job crafting from a self-regulatory strength perspective

Abstract

This study investigates the daily dynamics between recovery experiences, sleep quality, resilience, job crafting, and long-term job performance. By building on prior research that highlights the critical roles of recovery and sleep in employee well-being and performance, we focus on job crafting as a key behavioral outcome of off-job recovery activities. Drawing on the self-regulatory strength model, we propose that recovery experiences and sleep quality replenish self-regulatory resources needed for self-control, fostering next-day job crafting through enhanced resilience. Using the experience-sampling method for 91 flight attendants, who answered two daily surveys over five days, we found a positive relationship between overnight experiences of recovery, sleep quality, and job crafting on the subsequent day, which was mediated by resilience the following morning. Additionally, daily resilience and job crafting mediated the positive impact of daily recovery experiences and sleep quality on job performance measured three months later. Notably, this study departs from previous ones by viewing job crafting as a self-regulatory behavior impacted by a cognitive self-control mechanism. Our findings underscore the importance of supporting employee recovery and sleep to facilitate job crafting and long-term performance. These insights offer practical implications for organizational policies and culture, training initiatives, and interventions aimed at enhancing employee well-being and sustained productivity.