title: Should you switch off or stay engaged? The consequences of thinking about work on the trajectory of psychological well-being over time.
abstract: This study examined how 2 different ways of being mentally engaged with work-related issues during evenings (affective rumination and problem-solving pondering) cause changes in psychological well-being over a 1-year period. We conducted a 3-wave longitudinal study with a time lag of 6 months between each wave. At the first measurement moment, participants filled out a survey over 5 consecutive working days assessing work-related affective rumination and problem-solving pondering during evenings. Exhaustion and health complaints were assessed at the first measurement moment as well as after 6 and 12 months. The 3 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 well-being 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. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Work and Social Psychology, Maastricht University.
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0507-4298
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Firoozabadi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Work and Social Psychology, Maastricht University.
authors.forename: Sjir
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7815-1579
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uitdewilligen
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Work and Social Psychology, Maastricht University.
authors.forename: Fred R H
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3505-9753
authors.initials: FRH
authors.lastname: Zijlstra
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D000073397:Occupational Stress / Q000523:psychology*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011340:Problem Solving; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013850:Thinking; D014937:Work / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult