Should you switch off or stay engaged? The consequences of thinking about work on the trajectory of psychological well-being over time

Abbas Firoozabadi, Sjir Uitdewilligen, Fred R. H. Zijlstra
2018 Journal of Occupational Health Psychology  
This study examined how two different ways of being mentally engaged with workrelated issues during evenings (affective rumination and problem-solving pondering) cause changes in psychological well-being over one year period. We conducted a threewave longitudinal study with a time lag of six months between each wave. At the first measurement moment, participants filled out a survey over five consecutive working days assessing work-related affective rumination and problem-solving pondering
more » ... evenings. Exhaustion and health complaints were assessed at the first measurement moment as well as after six and after 12 months. The three waves of data obtained from a total of 123 participants with full-time and primarily mentally demanding jobs were analyzed using latent growth curve modeling (LGM). The results showed that affective rumination is a significant predictor of increase in exhaustion over time. Problem-solving pondering was not found to be a significant predictor of change in psychological wellbeing over time. These findings demonstrate that work-related rumination during evenings may lead to health problems over time depending on the type of rumination. It suggests that unlike affective rumination, problem-solving pondering during evenings has no influence on psychological well-being over time.
doi:10.1037/ocp0000068 pmid:27991803 fatcat:3t4rp65jrjd75ponb2yjdggc74