Investigating affective dispositions as moderators of relationships between weekend activities and recovery experiences

Recovery experiences achieved during a weekend are presumed to be outcomes of weekend activities. However, results examining relationships between them are mixed. In line with models of differential stress responses, we posited that these differences may be accounted for by affective dispositions. We examined three‐way interactions between weekend activities (low‐effort and work‐related) and both positive trait affect ( PA ) and negative trait affect ( NA ) on recovery experiences (psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery). Employees from various work sectors ( N = 183) responded to online surveys about their weekend. The results demonstrated that recovery experiences, specifically psychological detachment and mastery, depended on interactions between weekend activities and affective dispositions. When PA was high, NA had a detrimental impact on the relationship between both weekend activities and mastery experiences. When PA was low, NA had a detrimental impact on the relationship between low‐effort activities and psychological detachment. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. Practitioner points Positive and negative affective dispositions need to be considered in combination to understand when certain recovery activities will be related to recovery experiences or not. When PA was high, NA had a detrimental impact on the relationship between both weekend activities and mastery experiences. When PA was low, NA had a detrimental impact on the relationship between low‐effort activities and psychological detachment.