The impact of within-day work breaks on daily recovery processes: An event-based pre-/post-experience sampling study

Research on recovery from work stress has emphasized the importance of within-day work breaks. However, prior research has not been designed and analysed in a way that fully aligns with the processes described by the underlying theoretical framework (i.e., the effort-recovery model). The current paper examines the effects of within-day work breaks on recovery using an event-based pre-/post (EBPP)-design, in a way that more fully captures the recovery process as described by the effort-recovery model. We also included designs used in previous studies (i.e., an interval-based design and an event-based design without pre-break strain measures) to demonstrate the differences between the EBPP design and previous designs. The results of the EBPP model using a sample of Chinese white-collar employees showed that within-day work breaks are significantly associated with reduced fatigue and negative affect and increased positive affect, supporting the predicted recovery effects of within-day work breaks. However, mixed results were found in the interval-based design, and non-significant results were found in the event-based design without pre-break measurements. We discuss methodological implications and explain how the EBPP design could be applied to study other episodic phenomena

The effect of motivation and positive affect on ego depletion: Replenishment versus release mechanism

In this study, 2 experiments were conducted to investigate whether motivation and positive affect can alleviate ego depletion and to elucidate their possible mechanisms. In Experiment 1, a crossing-out-letter task was adapted to reach an ego depletion state for Chinese participants. Participants were then randomly assigned to the extrinsic motivation group, the positive affect group or the depletion control group. After the experimental treatment, a dumbbell task was used to measure participants\u27 remaining self-regulatory resources. The results showed that participants in the motivation and positive affect groups performed better on the dumbbell task than participants in the depletion control group. Experiment 2 was similar to Experiment 1 except that participants were asked to perform an additional unexpected dumbbell task after a neutral video following the above procedure. The results of Experiment 1 were replicated; however, participants\u27 performance on the additional dumbbell task differed. The positive affect group performed better than the depletion control group, indicating an increase in self-regulatory resources and thus supporting the replenishment effect of positive affect. No significant difference was found between the motivation group and the depletion control group

The curvilinear relationship between daily time pressure and work engagement: The role of psychological capital and sleep

The present study focuses on the fluctuation in work engagement by examining the relationship between daily time pressure and daily work engagement. Based on the job demands-resources (JD-R) theory, this study also tests whether psychological capital and sleep moderate the influence of time pressure on work engagement. We conducted a diary study to gather 67 participants’ data over 10 consecutive work days (502 daily measurement points), including their daily time pressure, work engagement, and sleep quality. Our results indicate that there is a curvilinear relationship between daily time pressure and work engagement in the form of an inverted U-shape. If it was lower than the optimal level, daily time pressure as a challenging stressor positively predicted daily work engagement. Substantial time pressure impaired daily work engagement. In addition, the curvilinear relationship between daily time pressure and work engagement was attenuated as a function of increasing psychological capital or chronic sleep quality. Specifically, compared with low psychological capital or chronic sleep quality, excessive time pressure could also positively predict daily work engagement if psychological capital or chronic sleep quality was high. In addition, this study provided preliminary evidence that daily sleep quality may not be enough to buffer the curvilinear relation. Implications for research on daily work engagement and intervention programs are discussed

Metacognitive planning: Development and validation of an online measure.

Planning is the critical first stage of metacognition. Although it has long been emphasized theoretically, it has not been the subject of much empirical study due to the lack of a valid assessment tool. Because planning is a metacognitive process, online methods that collect data during task performance would much better capture it. The present study was conducted to develop an online measure of metacognitive planning. Researchers designed a puzzle task that took the form of the popular game Sokoban, and the ratio between planning time and total time of each item was chosen as the metacognitive planning index. The task was administered to a heterogeneous sample of 440 participants composed of college students as well as 5th-, 7th-, and 10th-grade students. The results showed that valid inference could be made from the time ratio score. Cronbach’s alpha and test–retest correlation provided robust evidence of reliability of the time ratio score. Confirmatory factor analysis further confirmed its unidimensionality. Validity evidence also supported the use of the time ratio score. After controlling for demographic variables, intelligence, and motivation, the time ratio score still accounted for a significant proportion of variance of Sokoban performance, the Tower of London performance, and academic achievement. The time ratio score was also found to increase with age. Taken together, the results of the study revealed that the time ratio is a psychometrically sound online measure of metacognitive plannin

Psychological Capital, Positive Affect, and Organizational Outcomes: A Three-Wave Cross-Lagged Study

Psychological capital (PsyCap) is a higher-order construct comprising hope, efficacy, optimism, and resiliency, which has attracted more and more attention from both academics and practitioners. Despite promising progress made in the PsyCap literature, the underlying mechanisms linking PsyCap to organizational outcomes still need more investigation utilizing longitudinal research design. Moreover, the reciprocal relationships between PsyCap and positive affect require more attention. Therefore, we aim to test the central role of positive affect in the relationships between PsyCap and affective organizational commitment (AOC) on one hand and organizational citizenship behaviour toward organization (OCBO) on the other hand as well as the reciprocal relationships between PsyCap and positive affect in this study. A three-wave longitudinal survey was conducted using a cross-lagged panel design with a one-month time lag between two consecutive waves. Panel data was collected from 208 workers in Beijing, China. The results support the hypothesis that positive affect serves as a mediator in the relationships between PsyCap and OCBO. Moreover, we also find some support for a reciprocal relationship between PsyCap and positive affect. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are also discussed

Revealing the pulse-induced electroplasticity by decoupling electron wind force

Micro/nano electromechanical systems and nanodevices often suffer from degradation under electrical pulse. However, the origin of pulse-induced degradation remains an open question. Herein, we investigate the defect dynamics in Au nanocrystals under pulse conditions. By decoupling the electron wind force via a properly-designed in situ TEM electropulsing experiment, we reveal a non-directional migration of Σ3{112} incoherent twin boundary upon electropulsing, in contrast to the expected directional migration under electron wind force. Quantitative analyses demonstrate that such exceptional incoherent twin boundary migration is governed by the electron-dislocation interaction that enhances the atom vibration at dislocation cores, rather than driven by the electron wind force in classic model. Our observations provide valuable insights into the origin of electroplasticity in metallic materials at the atomic level, which are of scientific and technological significances to understanding the electromigration and resultant electrical damage/failure inmicro/ nano-electronic devices

Hexaaqua­cobalt(II) 3,3′-dicarb­oxy­biphenyl-4,4′-dicarboxyl­ate

In the crystal structure of the title compound, [Co(H2O)6](C16H8O8), both the cation and anion are centrosymmetric. The Co cation displays a CoO6 octa­hedral geometry formed by six water mol­ecules. In the anion, the two carboxyl groups are oriented at dihedral angles of 4.8 (5) and 10.4 (7)° with respect to the benzene ring. Very strong O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the protonated and deprotonated carboxylate groups occur. Neighbouring cations and anions are connected through O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds into a three-dimensional supra­molecular structure