Drammatic breaks: Break recovery experiences as mediators between job demands and affect in the afternoon and evening

Relationship between psychological detachment from work and depressive symptoms: indirect role of emotional exhaustion and moderating role of self-compassion

The importance of psychological detachment during nonwork time has been emphasized, and its effect on depressive symptoms has been identified. However, the mechanism underlying this association remains to be elucidated. This study was conducted to identify the indirect role of emotional exhaustion in the association between psychological detachment and depressive symptoms and the moderating role of self-compassion in the relationship between emotional exhaustion and depressive symptoms on the basis of the recovery-engagement-exhaustion model and emotion regulation theory. Through an online survey, relevant data were collected from 727 university teachers (mean age, 37.65 ± 7.77 years; 38.5% men). Indirect and moderation effect were analyzed through structural equation modeling (Mplus). Psychological detachment was found to be associated with depressive symptoms through emotional exhaustion. Self-compassion moderated the association between emotional exhaustion and depressive symptoms. The association between emotional exhaustion and depressive symptoms was weaker among university teachers with high levels of self-compassion than among those with low levels of self-compassion. This study improves our understanding of the association between psychological detachment and depressive symptoms by identifying the emotional pathway and protective function of self-compassion. Interventions for improving mental health in work context should be designed considering psychological detachment and self-compassion to deal with work-induced emotional strain.

Engaging Leadership and Psychological Safety as Moderators of the Relationship between Strain and Work Recovery: A Cross-Sectional Study of HSS Employees

Work in the health and social sector (HSS) is highly straining and therefore recovery from work needs to be promoted. Less is known on how job resources can be used to alleviate job strain and increase recovery from work. Thus, we analyzed the following: the association between job demands and work recovery; the connections of engaging leadership and psychological safety to recovery from work; and the moderating effects of engaging leadership and psychological safety on the relationship between strain and recovery from work. This cross-sectional study of 18,155 HSS and 4347 eldercare employees in 2020 using linear regression analysis showed that job strain (p < 0.001) and moral distress (p < 0.001) were associated with decreased recovery from work. Engaging leadership (p < 0.001) and psychologically safe work community (p < 0.001) enhanced recovery from work independently. Engaging leadership mitigated the harmful effect of job strain (p < 0.01) and moral distress (p < 0.05), and psychological safety mitigated the effect of job strain (p < 0.001), but not moral distress (p > 0.05). Thus, it is important to reduce job strain so that employees recover from work. Further job resources such as engaging leadership and psychological safety are important in themselves as they support recovery from work and employees' well-being, but also as they alleviate job demands.

Teachers' daily physiological stress and positive affect in relation to their general occupational well-being

BACKGROUND

Teachers' stress, affect and general occupational well-being influence their teaching and their students. However, how teachers' daily physiological stress and positive affect are related in the classroom is unknown. To reduce teachers' stress and enhance their positive affect, it is crucial to understand how occupational well-being relates to stress and affect.

AIM

The aim of the study was to examine the relationships between teachers' daily physiological stress and positive affect in authentic classroom settings and the roles played by teachers' self-efficacy beliefs, perceptions of school climate and burnout symptoms in daily stress and affect.

SAMPLE

The sample consisted of 45 classroom teachers.

METHOD

Daily physiological stress was assessed by measuring salivary cortisol levels three times in two days. Positive affect was reported by experience sampling at the same time that cortisol was collected. Questionnaires were used to assess self-efficacy beliefs, perceptions of school climate and burnout symptoms. Three-level modelling with random intercepts and slopes was used to analyse the relationships between daily stress and affect and the effect of teachers' general occupational well-being on stress and affect.

RESULTS

No relationships were evident between teachers' physiological stress and positive affect or between daily changes of stress and affect. Self-efficacy beliefs were related to lower stress and higher affect in the middle of the school day. Having sufficient school resources were related to higher positive affect. Teachers' burnout symptoms were associated with lower positive affect.

CONCLUSIONS

We emphasize the potential for self-efficacy and perceptions of school resources as targets for intervening in teachers' stress and affect.

Recovery from Work: Advancing the Field Toward the Future

Unwinding and recovering from everyday work is important for sustaining employees’ well-being, motivation, and job performance. Accordingly, research on work recovery has grown tremendously in the past few decades. This article summarizes research on recovery during work breaks, leisure-time evenings, weekends, and vacations. Focusing on day-level and longitudinal field studies, the article describes predictors as well as outcomes of recovery in different recovery settings and addresses potential between-group and cross-cultural differences. It presents findings from intervention research demonstrating that recovery processes can be improved by deliberate training programs. The article then discusses how future recovery research can address emerging themes relevant to the future of work—changing boundaries between work and nonwork life, increased reliance on teams and technology, and changes in employment arrangements. We conclude with an overall summary, open research questions, directions for methodological improvements, and practical implications.

Difficulties detaching psychologically from work among German teachers: prevalence, risk factors and health outcomes within a cross-sectional and national representative employee survey

Background

Teachers often face high job demands that might elicit strong stress responses. This can increase risks of adverse strain outcomes such as mental and physical health impairment. Psychological detachment has been suggested as a recovery experience that counteracts the stressor-strain relationship. However, psychological detachment is often difficult when job demands are high. The aims of this study were, first, to gain information on the prevalence of difficulties detaching from work among German teachers, second, to identify potential person-related/individual (i.e., age, sex), occupational (e.g., tenure, leadership position), and work-related (e.g., overload, cognitive, emotional, and physical demands) risk factors and, third, to examine relationships with mental and physical health impairment and sickness absence.

Methods

A secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from a national and representative survey of German employees was conducted (BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey 2018). For the analyses data from two groups of teachers (primary/secondary school teachers: n = 901, other teachers: n = 641) were used and compared with prevalence estimates of employees from other occupations (n = 16,266).

Results

Primary/secondary school teachers (41.5%) and other teachers (30.3%) reported more difficulties detaching from work than employees from other occupations (21.3%). Emotional demands and deadline/performance pressure were the most severe risk factors in both groups of teachers. In the group of primary/secondary school teachers multitasking demands were further risk factors for difficulties to detach from work whereas support from colleagues reduced risks. In both groups of teachers detachment difficulties can be linked to an increase in psychosomatic and musculoskeletal complaints and, additionally, to a higher risk of sickness absence among primary/secondary school teachers.

Conclusions

Difficulties detaching from work are highly prevalent among German teachers. In order to protect them from related risks of health impairment, interventions are needed which aim at optimizing job demands and contextual resources (i.e., work-directed approaches) or at improving coping strategies (i.e., person-directed approaches).