Not detaching from work during leisure time, affect, and well-being: Testing the underlying processes

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Sabine Sonnentag
• Subject Area: Social Psychology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 408804332

This project examines psychological detachment from work during leisure time as one specific recovery experience that helps employees to unwind and recuperate after the workday. We address both short-term processes happening at the day level and longer-term processes occurring over the course of several months. To arrive at a better understanding of the benefits and the potential downsides associated with gaining mental distance from work during leisure time, we examine rumination and talking about work as mediators and differentiate between various types of psychological detachment. Moreover, we propose that neuroticism and extraversion play a role as moderators of the day-level effects. We will collect day-level data to predict state negative and positive affect (Study 1) as well as panel data to predict changes in exhaustion and work engagement over time (Study 2).

• DFG Programme: Research Grants