Daily Recovery Experiences of Japanese Small Business Owners and the Link with Well-Being and Ill-Being

Numerous studies deal with the link between daily recovery experiences (DRE) and mental health for employees. Hardly any studies exist for small business owners. This is surprising, given that their health is important not only to them but also to their environment (including employees, clients, suppliers, and networks). In the present cross-sectional study, we analyse whether this link also works for some 2,400 Japanese small business owners. Next to overall DRE, four dimensions of DRE are distinguished (detachment, relaxation, mastery, and control). Mental health is captured using well-being (psychological well-being and job satisfaction) and ill-being (burnout and stress). First, we compare our DRE levels with those reported in many other (employee) studies. Second, controlling for many phenomena, including participating in nomikai (a typical Japanese custom of getting together after office hours), both linear regressions and structural equation modelling show that for Japanese small business owners, the quality of overall DRE is positively linked to psychological well-being and job satisfaction, and negatively to burnout and stress. Third, like the quality of overall DRE, nomikai activities of the owner are positively linked to their psychological well-being and job satisfaction, and negatively linked to burnout and stress. Its role seems to be independent of that of the quality of DRE. Fourth, surprisingly, we find that the detachment dimension is negatively correlated with psychological well-being and job satisfaction, while the other three dimensions show the expected positive links. Fifth, and surprisingly, unlike the relaxation and mastery dimensions, the detachment and control dimensions do not show the expected negative links with burnout and stress. Many implications are discussed.