Daily Fluctuations in Office-Based Workers’ Leisure Activities and Well-Being

This day-level study examines links between the amount of leisure time devoted to social, physical, and low-effort activities after the workday and affective well-being at bedtime. A sample of 95 office-based workers completed surveys over four consecutive days at bedtime (380 data points). Results revealed a within-person effect of leisure activity on daily affective well-being. Participants consistently reported enhanced mood before sleep on days when they spent more hours engaging in physical and social activities compared to their personal average number of hours spent on these activities across the four days of the study. However, on days when more hours were spent on low-effort activity, participants consistently reported decreased positive emotions. This suggests that time allocation to certain leisure activities may better support well-being on a daily basis. Discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for helping individuals enhance their evening leisure experiences by making astute leisure choices.