Background: Research on how employees recover from work has focused primarily on recovery during non-work hours (external recovery) rather than recovery during work hours (internal recovery). Using the conservation of resources theory as a conceptual framework, we tested whether job crafting promotes an internal recovery state, and examined the processes that explain this association. Methods: Using the daily diary method, 120 full-time employees provided information before and after work for 5 days by rating job crafting, ego depletion, self-control demands at work, fatigue and vigor. Results: The results of multilevel modeling showed that after controlling for employees’ fatigue and vigor before work, daily job crafting predicted significantly better internal recovery (greater vigor and lower fatigue at the end of workday), and this association was mediated by lower ego depletion. The links between job crafting and internal recovery were stronger for employees with high self-control demands at work. Conclusions: This study extends recovery research by examining internal recovery as well as job crafting as its antecedent. Further, the present study suggests that managers may consider encouraging and offering job crafting interventions for employees to achieve internal recovery state.

Background: There is an increasing body of research on how employees recover from work, but most of this research has focused on recovery during non-work hours (external recovery) rather than recovery during the work hours (internal recovery). Using the conservation of resources theory as a conceptual framework, we tested whether job crafting promotes internal recovery state, and examined the processes that explain this association.Methods: Using the daily diary method, 120 participants provided information twice a day for five days by rating job crafting, ego depletion, self-control demands at work, fatigue and vigor.Results: The analysis of results showed that after controlling for fatigue and vigor before employees started a day’s work, job crafting predicted significantly better internal recovery, and this association was mediated by lower ego depletion. These associations were moderated by how much self-control was required by the job, with the links between job crafting, lower ego depletion and internal recovery being stronger for employees with high demands to exercise self-control.Conclusions: This study provides insights to how employees with high self-control demands recover from work via job crafting.