Does volunteer work during leisure time buffer negative effects of job stressors? A diary study

Abstract

This study examined volunteer work engagement as a buffer in the relationship between two types of job stressors and two job-related outcomes: positive affect and active listening at work. Fifty-one employees from different organizations who were involved in various volunteer work activities during their leisure time completed a daily survey over a period of one working week with two daily measurement times. The results of multilevel analyses showed that volunteer work engagement in the evening moderated the relationship between situational constraints and positive affect during the following working day, as well as the relationship between situational constraints and active listening during the following working day. After evenings in which people engaged in volunteer work activities, situational constraints were not associated with positive affect or active listening at work on the following day. However, after evenings in which people did not engage in volunteer work activities, situational constraints were negatively related to positive affect, as well as negatively related to active listening at work. Our findings contribute to research on moderators in stress research, as they suggest that volunteer work engagement during leisure time can buffer the effects of job stressors during the following working day.

Keywords:

• Active listening
• Diary study
• Job stressors
• Positive affect
• Volunteer work

This research was funded by a research grant from the University of Konstanz to the second author (12/00) that is gratefully acknowledged. We thank Franziska Bertram and Sonja Riefer for their involvement in data collection and Evangeline Frey, Miriam Koschate, Jennifer L. Sparr, Anne Spychala, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.