Risky physical activity: mechanisms for acquiring resources and skills for the world of work the case of scuba diving

The aim of this research is to understand how the practice of risky physical activity contributes to the acquisition of resources and skills that can be used in a professional context. Managing the unexpected, dealing with a hostile environment, confronting major risks and high time pressure... all these characteristics make scuba diving a promising field of research in terms of acquiring resources and skills that can be used in the world of work. In order to understand the mechanisms involved and their effects on workers, we conducted a qualitative study of 37 workers and practitioners of recreational diving. The methodology used was both deductive and inductive. The results of the thematic analysis using deductive coding highlighted an ability to recover from stressful situations experienced at work through the acquisition of resources such as: the experience of mastery, relaxation, psychological detachment, the experience of control and the feeling of belonging to a group during this leisure activity. In addition to these expected results, inductive coding reveals that respondents use skills learned during leisure activities in their work, such as stress management, the ability to take care of others, the ability to manage emergency situations, to analyse these situations and to make decisions in these risky situations. These results, grouped together under the concept of transferring life skills, shed new light on problem solving in risky situations during leisure activities, which can be used in the workplace.