Work hard,play hard: Leisure satisfaction and work engagement among Turkish women 1

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Previous studies have found physical activity to be associated with decreased organizational cynicism and low performance

OBJECTIVE:

The aim of this study was to examine work engagement and leisure satisfaction in Turkish women with regard to recreational physical activity participation and marital status, and to test the relationship between age and work experience, work engagement and leisure satisfaction.

METHODS:

Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) and Leisure Satisfaction Scale (LSS) were administered to assess women workers’ work engagement and leisure satisfaction. The sample for this project consisted of 317 women workers living in Turkey Ankara.

RESULTS:

The analysis indicated that there were statistically significant differences in all sub-dimensions of UWES and LSS between single and married participants, with single participants having higher mean scores. There were also statistically significant differences in “vigor” and “dedication” sub-dimensions of UWES, and in all sub-dimensions of LSS regarding to recreational physical activity participation. The results demonstrated that the mean scores of physically active women are higher than the non-active group.

CONCLUSIONS:

As a result, the data points to exercise participation as a rich source of information about work engagement and leisure satisfaction, and the positive use of leisure counseling as a work engagement.

Keywords

Work life physical activity dedication recreation

1 Introduction

Intensive interest towards positive psychology in recent years has heavily contributed to the increase in the number of academic researchers in the field [1, 2]. The results of these recent studies in the field of psychology, on the other hand, brought about new concepts that include positive approaches in the field of management science [3]. In this context, the subdiscipline of positive organizational science examines the effects of individual behavior on the organizational strategies and helps us to understand why some strategies and capabilities are more useful than others [4]. The positive organizational science has been the inspirational perspective to understand main concepts such as hope, happiness, well-being, organizational citizenship and organizational loyalty [4, 5]. Likewise, the concept of work engagement finds its explanatory origins in this approach.

Conceptually, work engagement syndrome falls at the opposite end of the pendulum in relation to the concepts such as workplace burnout, mental or physical fatigue, organizational cynicism and low performance [6]. It is a state directly opposite of burnout [7]. Work engagement is defined as “the positive and satisfactory psychological state related to work”, and it includes three dimensions: vigor, dedication, absorption [8]. Besides, “vigor” is explained by the state of high levels of energy and mental resilience while working, “dedication” dimension refers to a strong engagement to work, including the sense of importance, willingness, pride and struggle to work. The “absorption” dimension involves the mental state when one gets immersed in her job and finds it difficult to give a break when fully focused [9]. As a combination of commitment, loyalty, productivity and devotion, work engagement is an imaginary force that motivates the working person for high performance [10]. In this context, it is also known that those who work for an organization maintain this high energy out of the organization as well [11].

The topics such as work engagement, organizational commitment and job engagement cemented its place in leisure studies literature developed parallel to the positive approaches in the field of psychology [12]. In this context, “the flow theory” strikes out as it has reserved a significant study field for psychology literature [13]. The foundations of the flow theory goes back to bits of information first given in a Ph.D. thesis by Csikszentmihalyi (1965) that owed its authenticity to being a research on a group of artists (painters and sculptors) to test their creativity [12, 14]. This study pointed out that most artists did not expect to be rich and famous with their works, but that they work as hard as managers who are targeted higher salaries and better positions [13]. In this context, there are three dimensions that are dominant and widely used in the definition of flow and these are named as absorption, enjoyment and intrinsic interest [12, 13]. Absorption is defined as the total concentration situation when employees are fully engaged in their work [14]. People who work in a state of flow feel the time passes quickly and they forget everything around them [15]. Individuals who “enjoy” their work and feel happy make positive remarks about their work life [14]. This kind of pleasure or happiness is the emotional appreciation and the cognitive result of the flow experience [13]. The intrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is the fulfillment of an activity related to work with inner satisfaction and pleasure [16]. Therefore, high level of flow experience in the work environment is a protective factor for individuals who are confronted with extreme workload or high demands [15, 16].

Csikszentmihalyi’s flow theory has made its way into the leisure studies literature in time, and in several studies the personal experiences of individuals in participating in leisure have been examined [12 , 18]. The flow theory, which aims to find out what individuals actually mean by “intrinsic motivation” in leisure. The theory explains how individuals feel and what they experience during such activities [13]. In this respect, the perception of leisure satisfaction experienced as a result of the satisfaction levels of individuals from leisure can be regarded as an important indicator [18].

The leisure satisfaction is generally described as an indicator of the satisfaction level aimed towards meeting the needs of individuals in terms of experience [18, 19]. Nonetheless, leisure satisfaction develops as a result of positive perceptions that occur in the framework of leisure activities [20] and it is evaluated as an indicator of the satisfaction level of the individual’s needs in terms of experience [21]. In this context, research shows that the intrinsic and extrinsic meanings that the individual gives to his/her work are directly related to the motivations and outputs of leisure time activity [22]. Therefore, leisure is regarded very important for the individual [23, 24] because it defines the period of time when the individual gets free of the obligations and restrictions of the work and becomes free [25 –31]. Various work life and leisure studies reveal that the physical activity and wellness programs applied at the workplace have compensating and positive outputs on the work life and life quality of the working individuals [32, 33]. To be more specific, many studies stress the fact that the multiple role conflict (i.e. work life and family life) [34, 35] arising out of women’s inclusion into the work life can be compensated with recreational programs [32, 36].

Historically, women in Turkey have not benefited from social and economic development like men since they lacked equal participation in social and economic life [36 –38]. Therefore, the balance between women’s work and leisure time remains to be an important issue for examination [32, 35]. The relatively active participation of women into the work life in Turkey dates back to the 1950 s [39] but there still remain some issues related to social prestige of women both in work life and family or social life. On one hand, the social value and economic freedom of women have increased but on the other hand, their work-family conflict, housework and family or social roles provide important sources of struggle. This fact makes the importance and satisfaction of leisure for women a significant subject of study. In this context, our study aims to examine the work engagement and leisure time satisfaction of women in Turkey. In our study, we hypothesized that:

There would be statistically significant differences on LSS and UWES sub-dimensions with regard to marital status and physical activity participation.

There would be a statistically significant correlation between each of the variables (i.e., age, work experience) LSS’ and UWES’ sub-dimensions.

2 Material and methods

2.1 Participants

The participants are selected based on convenience sampling method. The questionnaires were delivered by the organizations’ internal mail or mailed to the employee’s home address if the latter had a temporary job contract or was on leave of absence. We collected samples from various organizations for the purpose of ensuring high variance in the study construct. No attempt was made in this study to generalize these results to the populations from which the samples were derived. Therefore, our major concern here was to maximize the internal validity of this study, not external validity. Subjects were introduced to the survey questionnaire via a cover letter from the principal investigators describing the objectives of the study as aiming to assess the leisure satisfaction and work engagement in their life. Subjects were assured that their responses would remain confidential and anonymous. In this regard, 400 questionnaire forms were delivered to the participants, and among the returned questionnaires 314 questionnaire forms that were properly filled in were evaluated.

2.2 Procedure

The questionnaire consisted of three sections. The first section of the questionnaire contained demographic questions related to gender, age, educational level, income, occupational title, years of service in current type of work, and years of service while the second and third sections focused and contained on measures of leisure satisfaction and work engagement questions. In the study, “Leisure Satisfaction Scale” (LSS) that was developed by Beard and Ragheb in 1980 [40] was used as the data collection tool in order to determine the leisure time satisfaction levels of the participants. The adaptation of the shorter version of the scale into Turkish was made by Gökçe and Orhan in 2011 [41] and in the item analyses performed to test the Turkish validity, findings were obtained validating the six sub-dimensions structure of the scale. The sub-dimensions of the scale were named as “Psychological”, “Educational”, “Social”, “Relaxation”, “Physiological” and “Aesthetical”. For the present study the internal consistency coefficient for the sum of the scale was calculated as 0.95, and for the sub-dimensions of the scale the internal consistency coefficients ranged between 0.75 (psychological) and 0.89 (aesthetical)

“The work engagement variable” was measured with the “Utrecht Work Engagement Scale” (UWES) that was developed by Schaufeli and his colleagues [42]. The scale consists of 17 items. Six of these items test the “Vigor” sub-dimensions (e.g. “I am full of energy while I do my job.”); five of the items question “Dedication” (e.g. “I work with enthusiasm.”); and the remaining six of the items were sentenced to measure the sub-dimensions of “absorption (e.g. While I am working I am immersed in what I am doing.”). The participants were supposed to mark one of the options ranging from 1 = never and 6 = always The Turkish adaptation of the scale was made by Turgut in 2011 [9]. For present study the internal consistency obtained were calculated as (α= 0.63) for “Vigor”, (α= 0.60) for “Dedication”, and (α= 0.53) for “Absorption” sub-dimensions. These values demonstrated that reliability for each sub-dimension was at medium level [43].

2.3 Statistical analysis

For the assumptions of parametric test, we analyzed the Levene test (homogenity of the variance) and Skewness and Kurtosis (normal distribution of the data) values. In the evaluation of the data, frequency, arithmetic mean and standard deviation were used as statistical methods. On the other hand, Pearson correlation test was used to determine the correlation between the variables; and MANOVA and ANOVA were performed to test the differences between the variables [44]. When we came up with differences between the groups as a result of the analyses, we applied multiple comparison test Tukey HSD in order to find out which groups caused the differences.

3 Results

The data analyses were based on the research questions identified. The sample of present study included 314 females (M_age = 31.58±7.59) and 72.3% of the sample were married. On the other hand, the majority of the participants who worked in private sector and 40.4% of the participant’s work experience were 5 years and under. When the total scores of the participants from the “UWES” were analyzed, the lowest scores came from the “Vigor” (M = 3.71) while the participants scored the highest in “Dedication” sub-dimensions (M = 4.06). Also, in the total scores obtained from the sub-dimensions of “LSS”, the lowest mean scores were from the “Social” (M = 3.49) whereas the highest mean scores were obtained from the “Aesthetical” (M = 3.83) (see Table 1).

Table 1
Descriptive statistics for the scales

Number of item N M Sd Skewness Kurtosis Min Max

UWES

Vigor 6 314 3.71 0.95 – 0.40 – 0.66 1.17 6.00

Dedication 5 314 4.06 0.90 0.10 – 0.76 2.00 6.00

Absorption 6 314 3.92 1.04 – 0.08 – 0.85 1.33 6.00

LSS

Psychological 4 314 3.56 0.76 – 0.33 – 0.75 1.50 5.00

Educational 4 314 3.59 0.81 – 0.20 – 1.15 1.75 5.00

Social 4 314 3.49 0.87 0.01 – 1.47 2.00 5.00

Relaxation 4 314 3.64 0.88 – 0.27 – 1.28 1.25 5.00

Physiological 4 314 3.53 0.82 – 0.32 – 0.94 1.50 5.00

Aesthetical 4 314 3.83 0.87 – 0.64 – 0.77 1.75 5.00

	Number of item	N	M	Sd	Skewness	Kurtosis	Min	Max
UWES
Vigor	6	314	3.71	0.95	– 0.40	– 0.66	1.17	6.00
Dedication	5	314	4.06	0.90	0.10	– 0.76	2.00	6.00
Absorption	6	314	3.92	1.04	– 0.08	– 0.85	1.33	6.00
LSS
Psychological	4	314	3.56	0.76	– 0.33	– 0.75	1.50	5.00
Educational	4	314	3.59	0.81	– 0.20	– 1.15	1.75	5.00
Social	4	314	3.49	0.87	0.01	– 1.47	2.00	5.00
Relaxation	4	314	3.64	0.88	– 0.27	– 1.28	1.25	5.00
Physiological	4	314	3.53	0.82	– 0.32	– 0.94	1.50	5.00
Aesthetical	4	314	3.83	0.87	– 0.64	– 0.77	1.75	5.00

MANOVA indicated significant main effect of marital status [λ = 0.805, F_(3,310) = 24.987, p = 0.000] on the “UWES” sub-dimensions. In tests between subject effects by marital status, the results from the ANOVA showed significant differences in the “Vigor” [F_(1,312) = 64.280, p = 0.000], “Dedication” [F_(1,312) = 27.121, p = 0.000] and “Absorption” [F_(1,312) = 4.614, p = 0.032]. The single participants had higher scores for all “UWES” sub-dimensions (Table 2). Results from the MANOVA indicated that there was a significant main effect of marital status [λ = 0.871, F_(6,307) = 7.558, p = 0.000] for the “LSS” sub-dimensions. In tests between subject effects by marital status, the results from the ANOVA showed significant differences in the “Psychological” [F_(1,312) = 21.496, p = 0.000], “Educational” [F_(1,312) = 14.850, p = 0.000], “Social” [F_(1,312) = 26.807, p = 0.000], “Relaxation” [F_(1,312) = 12.270, p = 0.001], “Physiological” [F_(1,312) = 17.291, p = 0.000] and “Aesthetical” sub-dimensions [F_(1,312) = 6.564, p = 0.011]. The single participants had higher scores for all LSS sub-dimensions (see Table 2).

Table 2

Descriptive statistics for the scales in according to marital status

	Single		Married
	(N = 87)		(N = 227)
	M	Sd	M	Sd
UWES
Vigor	4.34	0.56	3.46	0.96
Dedication	4.47	0.75	3.90	0.90
Absorption	4.12	1.00	3.84	1.05
LSS
Psychological	3.87	0.65	3.45	0.76
Educational	3.87	0.84	3.49	0.77
Social	3.88	0.87	3.33	0.82
Relaxation	3.91	0.86	3.53	0.86
Physiological	3.83	0.87	3.41	0.77
Aesthetical	4.03	0.92	3.75	0.85

MANOVA results revealed that the main effect of participation status in physical activity [λ = 0.522, F_(3,310) = 94.651, p = 0.000] on the “UWES” sub-dimensions was significant. In tests between-subject effects by participation status in physical activity, the results from the ANOVA showed significant differences in the “Vigor” [F_(1,312) = 226.338, p = 0.000] and “Dedication” [F_(1,312) = 119.575, p = 0.000]. The physically active participants had higher scores for the related UWES sub-dimensions (see Table 3).

Table 3

Descriptive statistics for the scales in according to physical activity participation status

	Active		Non-Active
	(N = 177)		(N = 137)
	M	Sd	M	Sd
UWES
Vigor	4.25	0.62	3.01	0.85
Dedication	4.47	0.77	3.53	0.75
Absorption	3.87	1.10	3.98	0.95
LSS
Psychological	3.84	0.65	3.21	0.74
Educational	3.88	0.76	3.22	0.71
Social	3.82	0.85	3.06	0.69
Relaxation	3.97	0.81	3.20	0.77
Physiological	3.98	0.68	2.94	0.57
Aesthetical	4.24	0.72	3.30	0.76

In addition, there were significant main effect of participation status in physical activity [λ = 0.561, F_(6,307) = 39.987, p = 0.000] on the “LSS” sub-dimensions and ANOVA results indicated significant differences in the “Psychological” [F_(1,312) = 63.506, p = 0.000], “Educational” [F_(1,312) = 60.988, p = 0.000], “Social” [F_(1,312) = 73.124, p = 0.000], “Relaxation” [F_(1,312) = 74.088, p = 0.001], “Physiological” [F_(1,312) = 211.110, p = 0.000] and “Aesthetical” sub-dimensions [F_(1,312) = 126.240, p = 0.011]. The physically active participants had higher scores for the related LSS sub-dimensions (see Table 3).

Results from the correlation analysis indicated that there were negative significant correlations between age and two sub-dimensions of “UWES” (Vigor and Dedication) and was positive correlation between age and “Absorption” sub-dimensions. In all sub-dimensions of “LSS” (Psychological, Educational, Social, Relaxation, Physiological and Aesthetical) negative significant correlation was found in according to the age. Whereas a significant negative correlation was found between work experience and “Vigor” and “Dedication” sub-dimensions of “UWES” and all sub-dimensions of “LSS”, a positive correlation was found between work experience and “Absorption” sub-dimension (see Table 4).

Table 4

Correlations among the age, work experience, UWES and LSS scores

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Age	1
Work Experience	0.85^**	1
Vigor	– 0.41^**	– 0.43^**	1
Dedication	– 0.08	– 0.09	0.50^**	1
Absorption	0.28^**	0.16^**	– 0.05	0.12^*	1
Psychological	– 0.40^**	– 0.44^**	0.62^**	0.33^**	0.01	1
Educational	– 0.42^**	– 0.42^**	0.58^**	0.35^**	– 0.12^*	0.71^**	1
Social	– 0.36^**	– 0.39^**	0.61^**	0.39^**	– 0.03	0.69^**	0.84^**	1
Relaxation	– 0.42^**	– 0.41^**	0.62^**	0.37^**	– 0.12^*	0.71^**	0.85^**	0.83^**	1
Physiological	– 0.16^**	– 0.17^**	0.52^**	0.37^**	– 0.08	0.44^**	0.58^**	0.54^**	0.62^**	1
Aesthetical	– 0.30^**	– 0.29^**	0.56^**	0.38^**	– 0.19^**	0.51^**	0.70^**	0.63^**	0.72^**	0.81^**	1

^*p < 0.05, ^**p < 0.01. (1: Age, 2: Work experience, 3: Vigor, 4: Dedication, 5: Absorption, 6: Psychological, 7: Educational, 8: Social, 9: Relaxation, 10: Physiological, 11. Aesthetical).

4 Discussion

The aim of this study was to examine work engagement and leisure satisfaction with regard to recreational physical activity participation and marital status and to test the relationship between age and work experience, work engagement and leisure satisfaction in Turkish women.

When the total scores of the participants from the “Utrecht Work Engagement Scale” were analyzed, the lowest scores came from the “Vigor” sub-dimension while the participants scored the highest in “Dedication” sub-dimension. Also, in the total scores obtained from the sub-dimensions of “Leisure Satisfaction Scale”, the lowest mean scores were from the “Social” sub-dimension whereas the highest mean scores were obtained from the “Aesthetical” sub-dimension. Based on these findings, it can be observed that feelings and traits such as feeling important, inspiration, pride, enthusiasm and struggle were considered important among the participants since these features symbolized a strong commitment to work. The physical space, appeal, atmosphere and design of the workplace were deemed important by the participants. Also, the study revealed that the participants were very competitive in their work lives.

According to the results, the main effect of the marital status variable on the sub-dimensions of “UWES” was found significant and the single participants obtained higher mean scores in the sub-dimensions of “Vigor”, “Dedication” and “Absorption”. This result is compatible with Bennett and Robinson’s [45] study in which they found out that in determining work engagement marital status was a significant factor. Likewise, in Kong’s [46] study the mean scores of single participants were higher than the married participants in all three sub-dimensions. In the literature, there are many studies that found significant correlation between marital status and the “UWES” scores [47, 48]. Sonnentag and Niessen [49] argued that “Vigor” experience in work life is externally affected by out-of-work factors. In the same context, Bakker and his colleagues [50] stated that the “Vigor” and “Dedication” levels among the married couples were the support of the spouses. Notwithstanding, Abbaas and Ikhlas [51] did not find a significant correlation between work engagement and marital status in their study. To summarize, contrary to the results of other studies, it can be stated that the participants in our study have felt higher energy, stamina and determination (vigor), and placed more meaning, interest and enthusiasm (dedication) in their work without the support of their spouses.

The present study also found the marital status was significant on the sub-dimensions of “LSS” and revealed higher mean scores for the single participants than the married participants in the “Psychological”, “Educational”, “Social”, “Relaxation”, “Physical” and “Aesthetical” sub-dimensions. Various studies in the literature witnessed correlation between leisure time satisfaction and marital status [52, 53]. Some studies, on the other hand, did not find any significant correlation between marital status and leisure time satisfaction [40, 54]. In general, the literature approaches to the problem of how married individuals with children spend their leisure time by evaluating the results of the research on probability [55, 56]. In short, it can be stated that the female participants who are divided between daily responsibilities roles and house care displayed probable results.

The results of the current study indicated that, the mean scores of the participants who were involved in physical activities in sub-dimensions of “Vigor” and “Dedication” were found higher than those who did not participate in physical activities; and thus, the main effect of the physical activity participation on the sub-dimensions of “UWES” was significant. Although there are not any specific studies in the literature that could reveal the direct relationship between the physical activity participation and work engagement, Parks and Steelman [57] stated that the work organizations have been providing physical activity programs such as wellness programs the last 25 years for their employees. The General Electric Company (Cincinnati, OH, USA) was the pioneer in this regard. In 1987, 900 employees of the company participated in the fitness program under the aegis of their company, and these employees experienced positive and significant improvements in their work satisfaction. Current researches have also revealed that institutional recreation and wellness programs create significant effect on the work satisfaction of the employees of those institutions [32 , 59]. Nevertheless, many studies recorded positive and significant correlation between physical activity participation and work satisfaction [60, 61]. In this context, it would be appropriate to say that emotional and physical states such as high energy level, physical stamina, late fatigue, enthusiasm, inspiration, struggle, focus and the desire to put effort that can be regarded as comprising the essence and nature of sports demonstrate the fact that the working people fully adapt these positive features in their work lives.

The findings also indicated that there was the main effect of physical activity participation on the sub-dimensions of “LSS” was significant; and on the “Psychological”, “Educational”, “Social”, “Relaxation”, “Physical” and “Aesthetical” sub-dimensions the mean scores of physically active participants were higher than physically non-active participants. The literature also supports our findings as various studies found a significant and positive correlation between physical activity participation and leisure time satisfaction [62]. At this point, when qualities such as the feeling of freedom, fun, intellectual and personal development, socialization, fitness and appeal of the leisure time place are taken into account it can be observed that the physical activity participation is effective on leisure time satisfaction.

When the correlation results regarding the age variable of the “UWES”, negative correlation was recorded between age and “Vigor” and “Dedication” sub-dimensions, whereas the correlation between age and “Absorption” sub-dimension was found positive. In the same regard, according to Kartal et al., study [63] in variables such as work commitment, energy, dedication and focus the older age groups scored higher than the other age groups. Nonetheless, significant correlations can be observed between the age variable and work engagement in various other studies [13 , 64]. However, there are also studies that did not record a significant correlation between the age control variable and dedication/ work engagement [51].

In our study, we obtained a negative correlation between the work experience variable and the sub-dimensions of “Dedication” and “Vigor” according to the “UWES”. The scale showed a positive significant correlation between the work experience and “Absorption” sub-dimension, this finding was similarly recorded in the study of Kartal et al. [63]. On the other hand, our findings did not match with the study of Turgut [9] who did not find a significant correlation between work experience and work engagement.

After the analysis of the correlation results regarding the age variable in the “LSS”, a negative significant correlation was recorded between age and all sub-dimensions. In the literature, many studies also found a significant correlation between age and leisure time satisfaction [52, 53]. Some studies recorded a decrease in leisure time satisfaction with an increase in age [65, 66]; whereas some studies did not record any significant correlation between age and leisure satisfaction [40, 14].

When the correlation results regarding the work experience variable in LSS, in all sub-dimensions of “LSS” negative significant correlation was found. Many employees who want to express themselves at the workplace begin to experience work addiction as they try to climb the ladders of the work pyramid [67]. The literature records these work addict individuals as experiencing low levels of leisure time perception and thinking about work while even not working [68 –71].

5 Conclusions

As a conclusion, our study revealed that there is a significant correlation between work engagement and leisure time satisfaction. Based on the findings of our study, it can be stated that the meaning the women employee in their work life is much deeper than it is traditionally perceived. The participants of our study regarded their work lives interesting and their jobs serve for a purpose. If we keep in mind that the work organizations are still dominated by the males [72], it can be implied that working women make sense of their work with the thought that it serves for a purpose. The implicit meaning the women attribute to their work is shaped by different variables such as marital status and physical activity participation, and this proves the goal-oriented, purpose-serving approach. On the other hand, they think that their work serves a purpose. Working women choose to spend their leisure time determined by aesthetic concerns such as appeal, beauty and atmosphere like they do in their workplaces. The work organizations should take the studies into account that can help improve work engagement. Activities directed at social and individual development of the employees such as social activities, teamwork and empathy exercises, and wellness activities provided in the institutions are especially important for maintaining the group prestige.

6 Recommendations

In this regard, the studies that can help to combine and integrating work life and leisure time of working people are considered important for leisure time studies literature. Last but not least, it is recommended that future studies should focus on topics such as organizational cynicism, burnout, work-family life conflict and types of leisure time activity, the frequency of leisure time participation and comparative active/passive physical activity participation studies sampling different groups and variables.

Conflict of interest

None to report.

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