Hobbies Don’t Just Improve Personal Lives, They Can Also Boost Creativity and Meaning at Work
Hobbies are usually seen as something we do to unwind after work — a way to relax, disconnect, or simply enjoy ourselves. But new research suggests they may be doing much more than that. According to a recent study by researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Erasmus University Rotterdam, hobbies can actively improve how people feel and behave at work, including making them more creative, engaged, and fulfilled in their jobs.
The research focuses on a concept known as leisure crafting, which involves intentionally shaping how we spend our free time. Instead of treating hobbies as passive downtime, leisure crafting encourages people to approach their hobbies with purpose, learning, and social connection. The findings suggest that when people do this, the benefits don’t stop at personal well-being — they spill over into the workplace in meaningful ways.
What the Study Looked At
The study was published in the academic journal Human Relations and involved collaboration between scholars in organizational psychology and business studies. The researchers wanted to understand whether hobbies could influence work outcomes, not just personal happiness.
Previous research had already shown that hobbies can reduce stress and improve mental health. What wasn’t clear was whether the way people approach their hobbies could have a measurable impact on their professional lives.
To explore this, the research team designed a leisure crafting intervention and tested it on a group of working adults.
Understanding Leisure Crafting
Leisure crafting is not about simply doing more hobbies or spending more time on them. Instead, it’s about how people engage with their hobbies. The study defined leisure crafting through three main elements:
- Autonomy and control: Doing a hobby in a way that fits your personal lifestyle and goals, rather than feeling pressured or constrained.
- Learning and personal growth: Using hobbies as a way to develop new skills, knowledge, or capabilities.
- Connection with others: Sharing hobbies with other people, asking for feedback, or participating in communities related to the activity.
This approach contrasts sharply with more passive forms of leisure, such as scrolling on a phone or watching television without intention. While those activities may help people relax, they don’t necessarily contribute to growth or fulfillment.
How the Research Was Conducted
The researchers recruited almost 200 working adults, with an average age of 46, to take part in the intervention. Participants came from various professions and were actively employed.
Those in the intervention group were asked to watch a short instructional video. The video guided them to create a personal leisure crafting plan, focusing on how they could approach one of their hobbies in a more meaningful way. This plan encouraged them to think about goals, learning opportunities, and social engagement connected to their chosen hobby.
Over a period of five weeks, participants completed weekly surveys. These surveys tracked how their leisure crafting plan was progressing, what worked well, what didn’t, and what they wanted to change or improve. The researchers also asked questions about participants’ emotions, sense of meaning, and behaviors both at work and outside of work.
To make sure the results were reliable, the researchers compared these participants to a control group who did not watch the video or make any leisure crafting plans.
What the Study Found
The results were striking. Participants who followed the leisure crafting intervention reported that their work felt more meaningful and worthwhile. They also said they behaved more creatively in their jobs, suggesting that what they were doing in their free time directly influenced how they approached work tasks.
One of the most surprising findings was that the positive effects were actually stronger at work than in people’s personal lives. The researchers initially expected the benefits to be evenly split between work and non-work domains.
A possible explanation is that many participants were already reasonably satisfied with their personal lives, leaving less room for noticeable improvement. In contrast, work life offered more opportunities for growth, creativity, and increased meaning.
Age Made a Difference Too
Age played an important moderating role in the results. While participants of all ages experienced work-related benefits, those aged 61 and older reported a noticeable increase in positive emotions overall.
This makes the study particularly important because it is one of the first intervention studies conducted with a mature working population. It challenges the idea that personal growth and learning are mainly concerns for younger workers and shows that intentional leisure can support emotional well-being well into later stages of a career.
Why Hobbies Can Influence Work
The researchers argue that hobbies are not isolated from professional identity. Skills, confidence, and motivation developed during leisure time can easily transfer to the workplace.
When people use hobbies to learn, set goals, and connect with others, they strengthen qualities like self-efficacy, curiosity, and intrinsic motivation. These qualities are closely linked to creative thinking and a stronger sense of purpose at work.
In other words, hobbies can become a quiet training ground for professional growth — without feeling like work.
What This Means for Organizations
One of the key takeaways from the study is that employees should not be viewed only as workers. They are whole individuals whose personal lives deeply influence how they perform at work.
The researchers suggest several ways organizations could support leisure crafting:
- Allowing employees to use personal development funds for hobbies, not just job-related training.
- Recognizing leisure-time commitments and personal projects as meaningful life domains, alongside family responsibilities.
- Offering leisure crafting workshops, online masterclasses, or development modules that encourage holistic growth rather than focusing only on work skills.
Supporting hobbies may sound unconventional, but the findings suggest it could be a practical way to boost creativity, engagement, and meaning across the workforce.
How This Fits Into Broader Research
This study builds on earlier ideas from job crafting theory, which emphasizes how employees can shape their work roles to better fit their strengths and interests. Leisure crafting extends this idea beyond the workplace, showing that proactive behavior outside work can be just as influential.
It also adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that well-being, creativity, and performance are deeply interconnected — and that separating work life from personal life may be less realistic than previously assumed.
Final Thoughts
The idea that hobbies can improve work performance might seem intuitive, but this research provides strong evidence that the way people engage with hobbies truly matters. Leisure crafting turns hobbies into opportunities for growth, connection, and meaning — benefits that don’t stop when the workday begins.
Rather than viewing hobbies as a distraction from work, this study suggests they may be one of the most overlooked tools for creating healthier, more creative, and more fulfilled employees.
Research paper:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00187267241234567
