Let's Have Fun Tonight: The Role of Pleasure in Daily Recovery from Work

The present study aims to advance insight into the role of pleasure in the daily effort‐recovery cycle. Specifically, using a within‐individual study design, we examine the associations between the pleasure employees experience during the evening after work and their recovery state that evening and at various points in time during the next workday. We also investigate associations between employees' recovery state at the end of the workday and the pleasure they experience during the subsequent evening. Multilevel analyses show that on days when employees experience higher levels of pleasure during the evening after work, they have a more favorable recovery state during that evening. Importantly, the extent to which employees experience pleasure during the evening after work is also positively related to their recovery state during the next workday. Finally, our study shows that on days when employees are in a more unfavorable recovery state at the end of the workday, they experience lower levels of pleasure during the subsequent evening after work. This study increases our insight into the role of pleasure in recovering from work and underlines the importance of engaging in pleasant activities after work.