Work hard, play hard:
Is leisure time the key to becoming a more successful entrepreneur?
Mojca Svetek | 28 February 2024
Entrepreneurship demands an incredible amount of effort and dedication. Countless studies have emphasized the long hours and unwavering commitment that entrepreneurs put into their ventures, often at the expense of other areas of life. However, in our quest to dissect the entrepreneurial journey, have we overlooked a crucial element – leisure time?
Tune into this episode where we are going to unpack:
- What is leisure crafting;
- How leisure crafting can help entrepreneurs become more engaged at work;
- What are the pitfalls of leisure crafting;
- How can entrepreneurs benefit from detaching from work.
Research articles:
- Adisa, T. A., Gbadamosi, G., Mordi, T., & Mordi, C. (2019). In search of perfect boundaries? Entrepreneurs’ work-life balance. Personnel Review, 48(6), 1634-1651.
- Baker, T., & Nelson, R. E. (2005). Creating something from nothing: Resource construction through entrepreneurial bricolage. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50(3), 329-366.
- Eschleman, K. J., Madsen, J., Alarcon, G., & Barelka, A. (2014). Benefiting from creative activity: The positive relationships between creative activity, recovery experiences, and performance‐related outcomes. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 87(3), 579-598.
- Hamrick, A. B., Paterson, T. A., Michaelis, T. L., Murnieks, C. Y., & Petrou, P. P. (2023). Work hard or play hard: The effect of leisure crafting on opportunity recognition and venture performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 38(5), 106327.
- Humbert, A. L., & Lewis, S. (2008). I have no life other than work—Long working hours, blurred boundaries and family life: The case of Irish entrepreneurs. In R. J. Burke & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), The long work hours culture: Causes, consequences and choices (pp. 159-181).
- Niks, I. M., de Jonge, J., Gevers, J. M., & Houtman, I. L. (2017). Divergent effects of detachment from work: A day-level study on employee creativity. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 26(2), 183-194.
- Petrou, P., & Bakker, A. B. (2016). Crafting one’s leisure time in response to high job strain. Human Relations, 69(2), 507-529.
- Rothbard, N. P. (2001). Enriching or depleting? The dynamics of engagement in work and family roles. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46(4), 655-684.
- Schindehutte, M., Morris, M., & Allen, J. (2006). Beyond achievement: Entrepreneurship as extreme experience. Small Business Economics, 27, 349-368.
- Sonnentag, S. (2012). Psychological detachment from work during leisure time: The benefits of mentally disengaging from work. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(2), 114-118.