Cortisol on Sunday as indicator of recovery from work: Prediction by observer ratings of job demands and control

ABSTRACT

Several considerations guided the research reported in this paper. First, recovery is pivotal for preventing stressful experiences from inducing long-term consequences. Second, cortisol levels under relaxed conditions constitute a good baseline measure. Third, there are many calls to avoid common method problems. Therefore, the Job Demands–Control (JDS) model, one of the most prominent models in occupational stress, should be tested by a combination of observation, self-report, and physiological data in terms of predicting recovery-related variables. In a sample of 53 Swiss employees, we assessed the JDS variables, demands and control, by systematic observation, fatigue at the end of work as an indicator of short-term recovery by questionnaire, and delayed recovery by baseline levels of cortisol on a Sunday under relaxing conditions. In line with expectations, regression analyses showed an impact of job demands and control on Sunday cortisol levels, and this effect was fully mediated by after work fatigue. Contrary to expectations, there was no significant interaction between job demands and control. Demonstrating that job demands and control predict after-work fatigue as well as a delayed physiological marker of recovery, these findings suggest that high after-work fatigue may entail costs to the individual’s physiological systems.

KEYWORDS:

• Cortisol
• rest day
• occupational health
• recovery
• Job Demands–Control Model

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Achim Elfering http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4274-0261

Norbert K. Semmer http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7686-6914

Notes

1 Fatigue indicates a need for recovery, and pertinent scales (such as the scale used in this study) contain items referring to fatigue as well as items referring to recovery. Thus, these two terms can be regarded as interchangeable.