Job stressors, emotional exhaustion, and need for recovery: A multi-source study on the benefits of psychological detachment

This paper examines psychological detachment (i.e., mentally “switching off”) from work during non-work time as a partial mediator between job stressors and low work-home boundaries on the one hand and strain reactions (emotional exhaustion, need for recovery) on the other hand. Survey data were collected from a sample of protestant pastors (N = 136) and their spouses (N = 97). Analyses showed that high workload, emotional dissonance, and low spatial work-home boundaries were related to poor psychological detachment from work during non-work time. Poor psychological detachment in turn predicted high levels of emotional exhaustion and need for recovery. Psychological detachment was a partial mediator between job stressors and strain reactions. This study avoids same-source bias and demonstrates the importance of psychological detachment in the stressor–strain relationship.     

Identifying long-term patterns of work-related rumination: associations with job demands and well-being outcomes

The aim of this 2-year longitudinal study was to identify long-term patterns of work-related rumination in terms of affective rumination, problem-solving pondering, and lack of psychological detachment from work during off-job time. We also examined how the patterns differed in job demands and well-being outcomes. The data were collected via questionnaires in three waves among employees (N = 664). Through latent profile analysis (LPA), five stable long-term patterns of rumination were identified: (1) no rumination (n = 81), (2) moderate detachment from work (n = 228), (3) moderate rumination combined with low detachment (n = 216), (4) affective rumination (n = 54), and (5) problem-solving pondering (n = 85), both combined with low detachment. The patterns differed in the job demands and well-being outcomes examined. Job demands (time pressure, cognitive and emotional demands) were at the highest level across time in patterns 3–5 and lowest in pattern 1. Patterns 3 and 4 were associated with poorer well-being outcomes (higher job exhaustion and more sleeping problems, and lower work engagement) across time. By contrast, pattern 5 showed positive outcomes, especially high level of work engagement. Thus, the different patterns of work-related ruminative thoughts suggest diverse relationships with job demands and well-being.     

Job demands–resources model in the context of recovery: Testing recovery experiences as mediators

The aim of the present study was to extend the original Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model by taking into account recovery as an important mediation mechanism between work characteristics and well-being/ill-health. Specifically, we examined whether recovery experiences—strategies promoting recovery—might have a mediating role in the JD-R model among 527 employees from a variety of different jobs. The results showed that psychological detachment fully mediated the effects of job demands on fatigue at work and mastery partially mediated the effects of job resources on work engagement. Altogether, the results suggest that recovery merits consideration as a mediating mechanism in the JD-R model.     

Divergent effects of detachment from work: a day-level study on employee creativity

Detachment from work during non-work time is generally related to a decrease in work-related strain. However, it might also hamper employees’ generation of new and useful ideas about work by completely shutting off work-related thoughts and/or feelings outside of work. In this day-level study, we used a within-person design to investigate the role of cognitive and emotional detachment from work during non-work time in relation to equivalent types of job demands and job resources, in the prediction of employee creativity. Cognitive detachment from work refers to mentally disconnecting from work and no longer thinking about job-related issues, whereas emotional detachment from work refers to affectively disconnecting from work and no longer experiencing job-related emotions. Survey data were gathered over the course of eight consecutive days from 151 health care employees. Multi-level analyses revealed that: (1) cognitive detachment was positively related to creativity, irrespective of the level of cognitive job demands and resources; (2) high emotional job demands in combination with either low levels of emotional detachment or high levels of emotional job resources were positively related to creativity. This day-level study provides insight into the relation between detachment from work and creativity from a process perspective, by showing specific conditions under which different types of detachment from work benefit employee creativity.     

Positive Experiences at Work and Daily Recovery: Effects on Couple’s Well-Being

The present diary study investigates, at the within-person level, how job satisfaction mediates the relationship between self-rated job performance and recovery experiences (i.e., psychological detachment from work and relaxation) during off-job time. Furthermore, we explore the effects of these two recovery experiences on couple´s well-being. Data were collected from 145 dual-earner couples (N = 290 participants; N = 1450 occasions) with a daily diary design (five consecutive working days). Multilevel analyses showed that daily job performance positively predicted psychological detachment and relaxation, and that daily job satisfaction partially mediated this relationship. In addition, we found that psychological detachment and relaxation have positive effects on own and partner´s indicators of well-being (i.e., relationship satisfaction and positive emotions). The benefits of recovery go beyond the individual and affect their partner´s level of well-being.     

Protecting Job Performance and Well-Being in the Demanding Work Context: The Moderating Effect of Psychological Detachment for Chinese Employees

The aim of this study was twofold: first, to examine the lasting effects of working hours on later job performance and well-being (i.e. emotional exhaustion and work engagement); second, to delineate the protective role of psychological detachment in the highly demanding Chinese work setting featuring long working hours. We employed a panel design in which all variables were measured twice, with six months in between the waves. Data were obtained from 323 Chinese employees working in diverse industries in Taiwan. Analysing the panel data with structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques, we found that working hours were positively associated with emotional exhaustion and negatively associated with work engagement and job performance, measured six months later. Detachment moderated the effects of working hours on later work engagement and job performance. Specifically, detachment attenuated the negative relationships between working hours and work engagement and job performance. The present study extends the recovery research in the West by demonstrating the protective role of detachment in the East Asian societies with important managerial implications.     

情绪调节自我效能感与主观幸福感：情绪调节方式的中介作用

本研究的目的在于探讨青少年情绪调节自我效能感与主观幸福感之间的关系及情绪调节方式在其中的中介作用。采用《情绪调节自我效能感量表》、《情绪调节方式量表》和《主观幸福感量表》对1128名中学生进行测查,结果表明：(1) 情绪调节自我效能感与情绪调节方式、生活满意度、积极情感、消极情感关系紧密;(2) 情绪调节自我效能感和情绪调节方式可显著预测主观幸福感;(3) 减弱调节在情绪调节自我效能感与主观幸福感间起部分中介作用。     

Health and turnover of working mothers after childbirth via the work-family interface: an analysis across time

This study examined organizational levers that impact work-family experiences, participant health, and subsequent turnover. Using a sample of 179 women returning to full-time work 4 months after childbirth, we examined the associations of 3 job resources (job security, skill discretion, and schedule control) with work-to-family enrichment and the associations of 2 job demands (psychological requirements and nonstandard work schedules) with work-to-family conflict. Further, we considered subsequent impact of work-to-family conflict and enrichment on women's health (physical and mental health) 8 months after women returned to work and the impact of health on voluntary turnover 12 months after women returned to work. Having a nonstandard work schedule was directly and positively related to conflict, whereas schedule control buffered the effect of psychological requirements on conflict. Skill discretion and job security, both job resources, directly and positively related to enrichment. Work-to-family conflict was negatively related to both physical and mental health, but work-to-family enrichment positively predicted only physical health. Physical health and mental health both negatively influenced turnover. We discuss implications and opportunities for future research.     

Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Associations between Leisure Time Physical Activity,Mental Well-Being and Subjective Health in Middle Adulthood

Previous studies have shown that participation in leisure time physical activity is related to better mental well-being and subjective health. However, the associations between different types of leisure time physical activities and different dimensions of mental well-being have rarely been studied. In addition, longitudinal research, analyzing possible causal relations between these variables, is lacking. To investigate these research questions, data gathered at ages 42 and 50 (present N = 303) for the Finnish Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development were used. Physical activity was assessed as frequency of participation at ages 42 and 50, and at age 50 also as frequency of participation in different types of physical activities. Mental well-being was captured by emotional, psychological and social well-being and subjective health by self-rated health and symptoms. Cross-sectionally, different types of physical activities were related to different dimensions of well-being. Walking had positive associations with psychological and social well-being, rambling in nature with emotional and social well-being, and endurance training with subjective health. Rambling in nature was also positively related to subjective health but only among men. Longitudinally, mental well-being predicted later participation in leisure-time physical activity, whereas no longitudinal associations between subjective health and physical activity were found. The results suggest that leisure time physical activities are related to current mental well-being and subjective health in midlife. Across time, good mental well-being seems to be a resource promoting engagement in physical activity.

     

Elucidating the role of recovery experiences in the job demands-resources model

Based on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, the current study examined the moderating role of recovery experiences (i.e., psychological detachment from work, relaxation, mastery experiences, and control over leisure time) on the relationship between one job demand (i.e., role conflict) and work- and health-related outcomes. Results from our sample of 990 employees from Spain showed that psychological detachment from work and relaxation buffered the negative impact of role conflict on some of the proposed outcomes. Contrary to our expectations, we did not find significant results for mastery and control regarding moderating effects. Overall, findings suggest a differential pattern of the recovery experiences in the health impairment process proposed by the JD-R model.     

Challenge and threat emotions as antecedents of recovery experiences: findings from a diary study with blue-collar workers

The aim of this study was (1) to investigate whether threat (e.g., anxiety, fear) and challenge (e.g., confidence, excitement) emotions that employees experience before work while thinking about the upcoming workday predict their recovery experiences (i.e., psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery, and control) after work and (2) to explore the moderating role of job control on the effect of threat and challenge emotions on recovery experiences. For two to four weeks, 57 blue-collar workers at an airport’s hub station completed a diary. Multilevel analyses (N = 1104) reveal that threat emotions in the morning decrease psychological detachment and relaxation after work. Job control buffers this negative effect. Furthermore, challenge emotions in the morning boost mastery after work. Next, when employees have low job control, challenge emotions also boost the recovery experience control. Practical implications and the need for future studies to examine more fine-grained mechanisms for better understanding how threat and challenge emotions experienced before starting work affect recovery experiences after work are discussed.     

Dissonance émotionnelle et bien-être dans la profession infirmière : le rôle médiateur des stratégies de régulation émotionnelle

The purpose of this study is to contribute to understanding the role of emotional regulation strategies in the relationship between emotional dissonance and well-being at work. The study was conducted on a sample of 559 nurses from two Algerian hospitals. The results indicate that emotional dissonance has a negative relationship with work engagement and job satisfaction. Attentional deployment and expressive suppression play a mediating role in this relationship. Emotional work can be understood as an important mechanism in the relationship between dissonance/well-being at work.     

The relation between off-job recovery and job resources: person-level differences and day-level dynamics

It is well-known that recovery from work and job resources can counteract negative effects of high job demands, but less is known about how off-job recovery and job resources are related to each other. In this two-level daily diary study, 67 employees filled out daily surveys over the course of 8 days to examine this issue. Consistent with our expectations, multilevel analyses revealed that previous day’s detachment from work is positively related to the state of being recovered before going to work, and that the state of being recovered is positively related to one’s level of job resources. Moreover, the results indicated that both person-level differences and day-level dynamics play a role in these relations. Our study highlights the importance of recovering from work in the sense that it does not only help individuals by repairing negative strain effects but can also function as a catalyst in the activation of job resources.     

Demands,resources, and work ability: A cross-national examination of health care workers

Understanding work ability, with the goal of promoting it, is important for individuals as well as organizations. It is especially important to study work ability in health care workers, who face many work-related challenges that may threaten work ability. We studied various job demands, job resources, and interactions of demands and resources relating to work ability using the Job Demands–Resources model as a framework. Acute care health care workers from six nations (US, Australia, UK, Brazil, Croatia, and Poland) completed a survey. Role demands related to work ability in the Australia sample only, and supervisor support related to work ability in the Australia sample only. Yet, high levels of supervisor support significantly moderated (buffered) negative relationships between physical demands and work ability in the US sample, along with negative relationships between role demands and work ability in both the Croatia and UK samples. Skill discretion related to work ability in every nation sample, and therefore appears to be particularly important to work ability perceptions. In addition, skill discretion moderated (buffered) a negative relationship between role demands and work ability in the Australia sample. We therefore recommend that interventions to help preserve or improve work ability target this important job resource.     

Effets du soutien organisationnel perçu et des caractéristiques de l’emploi sur l’anxiété au travail et l’épuisement professionnel : le rôle médiateur de la satisfaction des besoins psychologiques

Based on organizational support theory, job characteristics model, and self-determination theory, we examined the mechanisms that underlie the relations between organizational factors and ill-being. Specifically, the main purpose of the present study was to demonstrate the mediating role of the psychological needs for autonomy (i.e., the need for individuals to feel volitional and responsible for their own behavior), competence (i.e., the need for individuals to interact effectively with their environment), and relatedness (i.e., the need for individuals to feel connected and accepted by others), in the relationships of perceived organizational support (i.e., the degree to which employees believe that their organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being) and three motivational job characteristics (i.e., task identity, task significance, and work scheduling autonomy) to job anxiety and burnout. This is the first research, to the best of our knowledge, to test for the joint effects of perceived organizational support and motivational job characteristics on job anxiety and burnout through psychological need satisfaction. Four hundred and fifty-seven employees (216 men and 241 women) from different sectors (i.e., industry, trade, crafts) took part in the study. Fifty-seven participants worked in companies with less than 10 employees, 105 in companies with 11–49 employees, 138 in companies with 50–249 employees, 33 in companies with 250–499 employees, and 124 in companies with more than 500 employees. The hypothesized model was tested with structural equation modeling analyses. Results provided support for our hypotheses and revealed that all hypothesized paths were significant. Specifically, our results showed that perceived organizational support and job characteristics were positively related to psychological need satisfaction. In addition, satisfaction of these psychological needs was negatively associated with job anxiety and burnout. Therefore, feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness play a central role in the development or reduction of well- and ill-being at work. These results are consistent with previous research in the work context, which has shown that social factors (e.g., autonomy-supportive behaviors) have significant effects on workplace mental health through their influence on psychological need satisfaction. Practical and research implications as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Family interference with work and workplace cognitive failure: The mitigating role of recovery experiences

The first goal of this study was to test whether family interference with work (FIW) is positively related to increased workplace cognitive failure (WCF), which is defined as errors made at work that indicate lapses in memory (e.g., failing to recall work procedures), attention (e.g., not fully listening to instruction), and motor function (e.g., unintentionally pressing control switches on machines). The second goal was to determine whether recovery experiences (psychological detachment and relaxation) during free time on evenings and weekends can mitigate (weaken) the positive relationship between FIW and WCF. Results based on data collected from 118 water utility employees suggest that FIW is indeed related to more WCF, and that psychological detachment from work mitigates this positive relationship. It was relatively less evident that relaxation plays such a mitigating role.     

Getting stuck in depression: The roles of rumination and emotional inertia

Like many other mental disorders, depression is characterised by psychological inflexibility. Two instances of such inflexibility are rumination: repetitive cognitions focusing on the causes and consequences of depressive symptoms; and emotional inertia: the tendency for affective states to be resistant to change. In two studies, we tested the predictions that: (1) rumination and emotional inertia are related; and (2) both independently contribute to depressive symptoms. We examined emotional inertia of subjective affective experiences in daily life among a sample of non-clinical undergraduates (Study 1), and of affective behaviours during a family interaction task in a sample of clinically depressed and non-depressed adolescents (Study 2), and related it to self-reported rumination and depression severity. In both studies, rumination (particularly the brooding facet) and emotional inertia (particularly of sad/dysphoric affect) were positively associated, and both independently predicted depression severity. These findings demonstrate the importance of studying both cognitive and affective inflexibility in depression.     

EI training and pre-service teacher wellbeing

Teaching is a profession of high occupational stress and ‘emotional labour’ that can potentially result in job dissatisfaction, mental health problems, and leaving the profession. Emotional intelligence (EI) encompasses an array of emotional competencies that facilitate the identification, processing, and regulation of emotion and may enhance successful stress management, as well as augmentation of teacher well-being and classroom performance. Drawing upon research that EI can be developed through specific training, a modified version of the program, “Managing Occupational Stress through the Development of Emotional Intelligence” (Hansen, Gardner, & Stough, 2007), was administered to pre-service teachers over a five-week period. A control group completed only the questionnaire protocol of EI and other measures at the start, end, and one month following the program. Results were generally in line with those obtained by Poole and Saklofske (2009) suggesting that EI and related psychological well-being variables can be positively impacted by focused EI training.     

工作不安全感与幸福感、绩效的关系：自我效能感的作用

旨在探讨工作不安全感对员工工作幸福感和工作绩效(上级评定)的影响,以及一般自我效能感在其中的作用机制。研究采用问卷调查的方法,共收集到513个有效样本。数据分析采用层级回归分析的方法。研究结果发现：⑴工作不安全感对员工工作幸福感和工作绩效都有显著的消极影响;⑵一般自我效能感对工作不安全感与身体健康、心理健康之间关系具有显著的调节作用,但对工作满意度的调节作用不显著;⑶一般自我效能感对不安全感—工作绩效之间关系具有显著的调节作用。这就表明,在当今处于转型期的中国社会里,工作不安全感是影响员工工作幸福感和工作绩效的一个重要压力源,而一般自我效能感可以发挥有效的调节作用     

Self-determination at work: Understanding the role of leader-member exchange

Integrating self-determination theory (SDT) and leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, we explore the role of the leader in facilitating employee self-determination. We test a model of the linkages between employees’ leader-member exchanges, psychological need satisfaction (i.e., satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs), autonomous motivation, and attitudinal outcomes. We posit that high-quality leader-member exchanges facilitate satisfaction of employees’ fundamental psychological needs, which, in turn, enhance autonomous motivation and outcomes. Results for 283 working professionals supported this notion. Structural equation modeling indicated that the employee’s perception of the quality of the LMX was positively related to satisfaction of the needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Satisfaction of competence and autonomy needs was positively related to autonomous motivation, which, in turn, was associated with higher levels of job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, and subjective vitality. Our findings accentuate the role of leader-employee relationships in creating self-determination at work, and reinforce the importance of self-determination for employee attitudes and well-being. Limitations, implications, and directions for future research are discussed.