An exploratory study of work-leisure relationships during the Covid-19 lockdown

ABSTRACT

This study explored the attitudes towards work-leisure relationships (WLR) among Chinese during the Covid-19 lockdown. The lockdown creates a ‘quasi-experiment’ situation to investigate people’s views of WLR since they are obligated to stay home for weeks or months instead of commuting to workplaces. Eighty-two Chinese were interviewed, and the qualitative data were analysed using NVivo 12.0. The results suggest a model of ‘BRIS’ depicting four types of WLR: (a) ‘B’ for Balance, i.e. a dynamic equilibrium; (b) ‘R’ for Reciprocity, i.e. mutual beneficial; (c) ‘I’ for Integration, i.e. work and leisure could be each other; (d) ‘S’ for Separation, i.e. totally different from each other. The study contributes theoretically to developing this BRIS model to interpret the WLR in the context of the Covid-19 lockdown. Practical implications for employee management and satisfaction enhancement in companies, leisure policies, as well as future prospects for telework are also provided, particularly the importance of ‘balance’ in WLR is called for.

KEYWORDS:

• Work-leisure relationships
• balance
• reciprocity
• integration
• separation

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to extend sincere thanks to the students who help conduct the interviews and also to the respondents who accepted the interview during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [72274171]

Notes on contributors

Huimei Liu

Huimei LIU Ph.D, is a Professor at School of Philosophy, Academy of Tourism and Leisure; Zhejiang University, China. She is also an invited professor at Zhejiang University City College. Her research covers philosophical, cultural, and social psychological aspects of leisure studies.

Xinyan Xie

Xinyan XIE, is a doctoral student majoring at leisure studies at School of Philosophy, Zhejiang University. Her research interest is leisure and culture.

Qingyue Wu

Qingyue WU is a doctoral student majoring at leisure studies at School of Philosophy, Zhejiang University. Her research interest is leisure and culture.