Employees' work breaks and their physical and mental health: Results from a representative German survey.

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of three characteristics of work break organization, namely skipping work breaks, interruptions of work breaks, and meal break duration, and their relationships with physical and mental health. We used data from the BAuA-Working Time Survey 2017, a representative workforce survey in Germany, and restricted the sample to 5979 full-time employees. Logistic regression analyses were conducted with in total five health complaints as dependent variables: back pain and low back pain, pain in the neck and shoulder region, general tiredness, faintness, or fatigue, physical exhaustion, and emotional exhaustion.

Work-Time Control and Exhaustion: Internal Work-to-Home Interference and Internal Home-to-Work Interference as Mediators.

Strong work-time control (WTC) has been linked to reduced employee exhaustion, with work-to-home interference as an underlying mechanism. In this study, we aimed to investigate the mediation effect of both directions of internal work-home interference, namely internal work-to-home interference (IWHI) and internal home-to-work interference (IHWI). The analysis is based on data from the 2015, 2017, and 2019 BAuA-Working Time Survey, a representative German panel study.

Boundaryless working hours and recovery in Germany.

Objective: Due to recent trends such as globalization and digitalization, more and more employees tend to have flexible working time arrangements, including boundaryless working hours. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships of various aspects of boundaryless working hours (overtime, Sunday work, and extended work availability) with employees' state of recovery. Besides, we examined the mediating and moderating role of recovery experiences (psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery, and control) in these relationships.