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The Work Day Reconstruction Method: an adaptation of the Day Reconstruction Method to the work setting

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Abstract

The Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) is a time-diary, in which respondents record how they spent their time during the previous day and how they felt during these activities. We propose an adaptation of this interrogation technique to the work setting and call this adaptation the Work Day Reconstruction Method (W-DRM). The W-DRM is designed to focus on work activities, and to be adapted to the specific work activities of any worker. As time means money for firms, the W-DRM is designed to take less time to respond to, and can be used by firms and consulting firms to improve the workday of their workers. The W-DRM includes a U-Index at work, U stands for “unpleasant” or “undesirable”, a U-Index at work is used to measure the proportion of time a worker spends in an unpleasant state during a workday. A French insurance company sales representatives case study is used to demonstrate what information this method can yield. For example, we see that positive affects tend to decrease during the work day, while negative affects tend to increase, and the best work activity is… the meal break. Researchers can develop new forms of W-DRM and study new jobs. Researchers can also hybridize a W-DRM with a DRM, and they can adapt the DRM to new contexts, for example it would be possible to develop a School Day Reconstruction Method (S-DRM).

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Notes

  1. Namely that remembered happiness is not the same as experienced happiness, which biases general measures and makes time use measures necessary and informative.

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  1. Erasmus Happiness Economics Research Organization, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Burg. Oudlaan 50, Van der Goot Building, M5-43, 3062 PA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Renaud Gaucher

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  1. Renaud Gaucher
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Correspondence to Renaud Gaucher.

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Gaucher, R. The Work Day Reconstruction Method: an adaptation of the Day Reconstruction Method to the work setting. Qual Quant 56, 4487–4509 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-021-01290-9

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