London: High quality me-time not only improves your psychological well being it can also make you a more engaged employee, scientists have found. Dr Almuth McDowall at Birkbeck, University of London undertook two studies to ascertain whether the quantity and quality of me-time was associated with better work-life balance, wellbeing and engagement at work.

In the first study, 18 professionals completed a daily diary on their perceptions and experiences of me-time over a month. The second study involved 344 professionals who completed a questionnaire regarding work-life balance, family relationships, engagement at work and life satisfaction.

Analysis showed that those who experienced high quality, rather than the most, me-time enjoyed better work-life balance, wellbeing and were more engaged at work. "Me-time is a much talked about concept usually because people lament that they don't have any. Interestingly we found that me-time doesn't have to be solitary and is more beneficial if it involves freely chosen activities," McDowall said.

"Overall our research suggests if people take time out to recharge their batteries and experience the time taken out as high quality, this reaps benefits for their own psychological wellbeing, their family relationships and for their employers as they are more likely to perform better at work," McDowall said.