Recovery from work: Testing the effects of chronic internal and external workload on health and wellbeing

“What is already know on this subject” The need for recovery from the demands of work has been associated with workers detachment from work and wellbeing. Recovery from work can occur both during the working day, by way of rest breaks (i.e., internal recovery), and outside or work, during leisure time, by not working in the evening (i.e., external recovery). Recovery can be compromised when workload is high. It remains unclear how the experience of exposure to persistent high workload over time effects health and wellbeing, and whether similar effects are found for internal and external workload. Most research has focused on external workload and there is a lack of studies that have examined the effects of workload longitudinally. “What does this study add?” This study showed that chronic workload both during the day and evening is associated with increased risk of reporting psychological fatigue, physical fatigue and sleep problems. Interestingly, the effects on health are particularly salient when recovery opportunities are not taken during the working day. These results highlight the importance of workers needing to take time away from the demands of work by taking regular recovery breaks throughout the day as a prerequisite for maintaining health and wellbeing