Vanishing boundaries between work and non-work make it increasingly difficult for employees to recover from job stress. Our current understanding of the interactions between work and non-work domains, and workers´ role in deliberately shaping their on- and off-job experiences and replenishing psychological resources, is still in its infancy. De Bloom will present the aims and research methods of her interdisciplinary research project on leisure crafting. The aim of this project is to achieve a more profound understanding of bridges and boundaries between work and non-work and working people´s supposedly deliberate attempts to optimise their work/non-work interface. Using the DRAMMA model of optimal need satisfaction as an overarching framework, leisure crafting is defined as the proactive pursuit of leisure activities targeted at detachment, relaxation, autonomy, mastery, meaning and affiliation. Leisure crafting is expected to improve recovery from work, employability, and quality of life, particularly among older employees.

In this Academy of Finland funded project, the research team will use a variety of advanced methodological approaches to understand and to promote leisure crafting. Special attention is paid to modern technology, as well as new forms of online communication and human interaction. More specifically, the team will investigate if employees proactively engage in leisure crafting, how leisure crafting affects their leisure activities, and whether leisure crafting helps to satisfy psychological needs, which may ultimately result in higher levels of occupational well-being and job performance. The three sub studies of the project will focus on:

• cultural differences between Japan, Finland and the Netherlands,

• contextual variables (e.g., time, location, social environment, ICT use), and

• the role of modern technology (i.e., smartphone app) in influencing the relationships between leisure crafting, leisure activities, need satisfaction, need frustration, occupational health, wellbeing, and job performance.