International Journal of Psychological Studies; Vol. 8, No. 4; 2016 ISSN 1918-7211 E-ISSN 1918-722X Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 77 A Diary Study on Work-Related Perseverative Cognition and Employees’ Need for Recovery The Role of Emotional Support from Family and Neuroticism Annie Foucreault 1 , Julie Ménard 1 & Celestine Stevens 1 1 Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada Correspondance: Annie Foucreault, Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, C. P. 8888, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec, H3C 3P8. Tel: 1-514-987-3000 #2437. E-mail: foucreault.annie@courrier.uqam.ca Received: September 26, 2016 Accepted: October 26, 2016 Online Published: November 3, 2016 doi:10.5539/ijps.v8n4p77 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijps.v8n4p77 Abstract Daily Work-related Perseverative Cognition (WPC) increases employees’ need for recovery by maintaining physical activation of work-related stressors, thus depleting employees’ resources further. The aim of this study was to highlight factors that influence the WPC/need for recovery relationship on a daily basis. It is hypothesized that daily satisfaction with emotional support from family would have both a direct and a moderating effect on the relationship between employees’ daily WPC and need for recovery. Since individuals higher in neuroticism tend to report more distress symptoms and perseverative cognition, it was expected that neuroticism would: (1) have a direct effect on WPC and need for recovery, (2) accentuate the WPC/need for recovery relationship and (3) reduce the buffering effect of emotional support from family on need for recovery. A sample of 31 employees completed diaries for five consecutive days before sleep (122 data points). Results from hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that daily family support had no direct effect on daily need for recovery. However, daily family support buffered the WPC/need for recovery relationship but only among individuals low in neuroticism. For those high in neuroticism, daily family support was not associated with a reduction of daily need for recovery from work after resources had been depleted due to WPC. These findings suggest that individual characteristics (neuroticism) should be considered in order to interpret the effect of key resources (family support) on recovery. The discussion highlights how organizations can foster family support and offer alternative strategies for those higher in neuroticism. Keywords: employees’ need for recovery, emotional support from family, neuroticism, work-related perseverative cognition 1. Introduction When fatigue builds up after effort expenditure to meet work-related demands, employees usually feel a sense of urgency to take a break from work. This emotional state is defined as daily need for recovery (Sonnentag & Zijlstra, 2006). Studies have shown that an inadequate response to one’s own daily need for recovery is detrimental as it increases both physical (e.g., cardiovascular diseases; Sluiter, van der Beek, & Frings-Dresen, 1999) and psychological (e.g., psychological distress; Jansen, Kant, & van den Brandt, 2002) health problems related to occupational stress. In order to recover from spent resources, employees should avoid using the systems that are called upon during work periods (Hobföll, 1989; Meijman & Mulder, 1998). Among factors that impede recovery from work demands, research has increasingly focused on work-related perseverative cognition (WPC; i.e., worry and rumination about work-related issues) during non-work periods (Cropley & Millward, 2009; Flaxman, Ménard, Kinman, & Bond, 2012; Radstaak, Geurts, Beckers, Brosschot, & Kompier, 2014; Sonnentag, Kuttler, & Fritz, 2010). Indeed, when worrying and ruminating about work-related issues, employees continue to use personal resources and functional systems that have been active during the day. Although the direct effect of WPC on the recovery process has been widely investigated, few studies have considered moderators that may influence this relationship (e.g., Ménard, Foucreault, & Trépanier, under review). The present study aims to expand the understanding of employees’ need for recovery during respite periods by