In organizational scholarship, respite research largely focuses on the benefits of experiencing respites from work, in terms of breaks and vacations. Offering an inverse perspective, we present novel theory on the experience of work as a respite from other life domains. Based on a qualitative study of employees with taxing nonwork roles, we build an inductive model that exhibits why and when work can serve as a respite along with the resulting work and nonwork consequences. In particular, we show that to the extent that work offers a contrast to the nonwork situation and individuals can psychologically disconnect from their nonwork roles, they can experience work as a respite. Positive outcomes of this experience include increased workplace creativity and efficiency among others. Our work challenges core assumptions in the literatures on respite and work-nonwork dynamics and makes theoretical advances by demonstrating the conditions and consequences of experiencing work as a respite.
