Relaxation, morning recovery state and customer- and coworker-directed extra-role service behavior: the moderating effect of work–family interface

This study aims to investigate the impact of overnight off-work relaxation on the performance of frontline service employees (FLEs). Specifically, the authors focused on FLEs' customer-directed extra-role service behavior (C-ERSB) and coworker-directed extra-role service behavior (CW-ERSB) as indicators of outstanding service performance. Drawing on the conservation of resources (Hobfoll, 1989) and ego depletion theories (Baumeister, 2002), the authors hypothesized that the positive effect of overnight relaxation on ERSBs will be mediated by the state of recovery. Additionally, the authors examined the boundary conditions of these relationships by testing the moderating effects of work–family conflict (WFC) and family–work conflict (FWC).

The study employed an episodic sampling method. One hundred thirty-five FLEs completed two daily surveys (before- and after-work) over five consecutive workdays, yielding 636 time-lagged day-level observations. Multilevel path modeling was performed to analyze the mediation and second-stage moderated mediation effects.

Results showed that overnight off-work relaxation was positively related to FLEs' next-day C-ERSB and CW-ERSB via next-morning recovery state. The positive relationship between overnight off-work relaxation and the next-morning recovery state was weaker for FLEs who experienced overnight WFC. FWC during work hours weakened the positive relationship between the next-morning recovery state and CW-ERSB, but not the relationship between the next-morning recovery state and C-ERSB.

The study used an episodic sampling method to reveal the significance of off-work relaxation, recovery and family–work interface on FLEs' ERSBs, a critical yet underexplored phenomenon in service literature. This study sheds light on the pathways to achieve exceptional service performance by revealing the importance of overnight off-work relaxation and the conditions that promote ERSBs.