A Day in the Life of a Happy Worker

This edited collection brings together some of the leading researchers in the study of the daily experience of work and daily well-being. The book covers both theoretical and methodological issues involved in studying workers’ well-being as it evolves on a daily basis.

Interest in the topic of daily fluctuations in worker well-being has grown rapidly over the past ten years. This is partly because of advances in research and statistical methods, but also because researchers have found that the psychological processes that influence well-being play out from moment to moment, and from day to day. Topics covered in this book include:

• The theoretical basis of studying work as a series of daily episodes
• Assessment of different components of daily well-being
• Factors involved in the regulation of well-being at work
• Qualitative and quantitative diary experience sampling and event reconstruction methods
• Latent growth curve modelling of diary data

The final chapter of the book includes a preview of how daily methods may evolve in the future.

Intended as a guide for researchers with good knowledge of field research methods, the book will be particularly useful to researchers of work-related phenomena who seek to expand their knowledge of dynamic methods in field contexts, and those who want to start using these methods. It will also be of interest to students of work psychology and organisational behaviour, and related disciplines.

Arnold B. Bakker is Full Professor at the Department of Work and Organizational Psychology at Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He is President of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology, and a fellow of the American Psychological Society. His research interests include positive organizational behavior (e.g. performance, flow and engagement at work), burnout, work-family balance, and crossover of work-related emotions. Further information can be found at: www.arnoldbakker.com

Kevin Daniels is Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of East Anglia, UK. He is a fellow of the British Psychological Society. His research concerns how cognitive and emotional processes involved in the design of work influence well-being, safety and performance. As well as academic research, he is also involved in research on how to develop governmental policy and guidance to enhance health and well-being at work.