Quality 'me time' makes for better workers: Study

8th January 2015 – Setting aside parts of a busy working day to recharge one's batteries might be a valuable New Year's resolution. A study found that getting periods of 'me time' not only boosts psychological wellbeing but can also make an employee more engaged and valuable at work.

The research is being presented this week at the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology annual conference in Glasgow. Another paper being presented at the conference also raises serious doubts about the modern phenomenon of using technology to stay 'switched on' to the workplace outside office hours.

Both studies call into question whether increasing difficulties in maintaining a work-life balance are counter-productive both for the individual and for employers.

The work-life balance

The idea of 'me time' is frequently debated – usually among people leading hectic lives who feel themselves squeezed between the competing demands of work and family life. However, Dr Almuth McDowall of the University of Birbeck, who is presenting the study, says little is known from a psychological perspective about what people mean by 'me time' and what they strive to do to achieve it.

She recruited 18 professional men and women, with an average age of 44, to keep a daily diary charting their perceptions and experiences about 'me time' over the course of a month.

This was followed by a second larger study of 344 professional workers who filled out a questionnaire about how they juggled competing demands of home and work, the quality of family relationships, how engaged they felt by their jobs and whether they were satisfied with life.

The amount of 'me time ' varied widely from 3 hours each week to 50 hours per week. Quality of 'me time' was rated as:

• Very good by 8%
• Good by 40%
• Average by 42%
• Poor by 9%
• Very poor by 1%.

Quality, not quantity

Analysis showed that those who experienced high quality, rather than the most, me-time enjoyed better work-life balance, wellbeing and were more engaged at work.

Dr Almuth McDowall says: "Me time is a much talked about concept usually because people lament that they don’t have any. Interestingly we found that 'me time' doesn’t have to be solitary and is more beneficial if it involves freely chosen activities.

She tells us that some people relaxed best by doing something mundane like the washing or vacuuming while others headed for the outdoors or threw themselves into voluntary work.

"Overall our research suggests if people take time out to recharge their batteries and experience the time taken out as high quality, this reaps benefits for their own psychological wellbeing, their family relationships and for their employers," she says.