Turning home boredom during the outbreak of COVID-19 into thriving at home and career self-management: the role of online leisure crafting

Purpose This paper studied whether boredom at home due to social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic may motivate individuals to engage in online leisure crafting, thereby contributing to their thriving at home and career self-management. This paper aims to examine whether individuals’ growth need strength influences the impact of home boredom on online leisure crafting. Design/methodology/approach This paper performed a two-wave longitudinal study involving a group of employees from the hospitality industry ( N = 340) in Mainland China. This paper evaluated home boredom, online leisure crafting and growth need strength at Time 1 and thriving at home and career self-management two months later at Time 2. Findings The respondents’ experience of home boredom had a time-lagged effect on their thriving at home and career self-management via online leisure crafting. Additionally, their growth need strength amplified the positive impact of home boredom on online leisure crafting. Practical implications Hospitality managers can motivate employees to engage in crafting online leisure activities at home when they experience home boredom during the outbreak of COVID-19, which may further allow them to experience thriving at home and engage in career self-management. Additionally, managers can develop managerial interventions to improve the growth need strength of employees with low growth needs, which may, in turn, render these employees less likely to tolerate home boredom, thereby increasing the positive impact of home boredom on their online leisure crafting. Originality/value This paper offer insights for the boredom literature regarding how individuals’ home boredom caused by social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic might lead to their thriving at home through online leisure crafting. This paper also provides insights for the leisure crafting literature regarding the role of online leisure crafting in individuals’ thriving at home. This paper reveals the role of growth need strength in the impact of home boredom on thriving at home through online leisure crafting.