HOLLY BLAKE holly.blake@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Behavioural Medicine
Psychological detachment from work predicts mental wellbeing of working-age adults: findings from the ‘Wellbeing of the Workforce’ (WoW) prospective longitudinal cohort study
Blake, Holly; Hassard, Juliet; Thomson, Louise; Choo, Wei Hoong; Dulal-Arthur, Teixiera; Karanika-Murray, Maria; Delic, Lana; Pickford, Richard; Rudkin, Lou
Authors
Juliet Hassard
LOUISE THOMSON louise.thomson@nottingham.ac.uk
Associate Professor
Wei Hoong Choo
TEIXIERA DULAL - ARTHUR Teixiera.Dulal-arthur@nottingham.ac.uk
Research Assistant
Maria Karanika-Murray
Lana Delic
Richard Pickford
Lou Rudkin
Abstract
Background: There is an urgent need to better understand the factors that predict mental wellbeing in vocationally active adults during globally turbulent times.
Aim: To explore the relationship between psychological detachment from work (postulated as a key recovery activity from work) in the first national COVID-19 lockdown with health, wellbeing, and life satisfaction of working age-adults one year later, within the context of a global pandemic.
Methods: Wellbeing of the Workforce (WoW) was a prospective longitudinal cohort study, with two waves of data collection (Time 1, April-June 2020: T1 n=337; Time 2, March-April 2021: T2=169) corresponding with the first and third national COVID-19 lockdowns in the UK. Participants were >18 years, who were employed or self-employed and working in the UK. Descriptive and parametric (t-tests and linear regression) and nonparametric (chi square tests) inferential statistics were employed.
Results: Risk for major depression (T1: 20.0% to T2: 29.0%, p = .002), poor general health (T1: 4.7% to T2: 0%, p = .002) and poor life satisfaction (T1: 15.4% to T2: 25.4%, p = .002) worsened over time, moderate-to-severe anxiety remained stable (T1: 26.1% to T2: 30.2%, p = .15). Low psychological detachment from work was more prevalent in the first wave (T1: 21.4% and T2: 16.0%), with a moderate improvement observed from T1 to T2 (t (129) = -7.09, p < .001). No differences were observed with work status (employed/self-employed), except for self-employed workers being more likely to report poor general health at T1 (16.1%, p = .002). Better psychological wellbeing, lower anxiety and higher life satisfaction at T2 were observed in those who reported better psychological detachment from work at T1 ( = .21, p = .01 ; = -.43, p < .001; = .32, p =.003, respectively), and in those who improved in this recovery activity from T1 to T2 ( = .36, p < .001 ; = -.27, p < .001 ; = .27, p = .008, respectively), controlling for age, gender and ethnicity.
Conclusion: The ability to psychologically detach from work during the first pandemic lockdown, and improvement in this recovery activity over time, predicted better mental wellbeing and quality of life in vocationally active adults after one year of a global crisis, irrespective of work status. Interventions to encourage workers to psychologically detach from work may help to support employee wellbeing at all times, not only in the extreme circumstances of pandemics and economic uncertainty.
Citation
Blake, H., Hassard, J., Thomson, L., Choo, W. H., Dulal-Arthur, T., Karanika-Murray, M., Delic, L., Pickford, R., & Rudkin, L. (in press). Psychological detachment from work predicts mental wellbeing of working-age adults: findings from the ‘Wellbeing of the Workforce’ (WoW) prospective longitudinal cohort study. PLoS ONE,
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Oct 30, 2024 |
Deposit Date | Oct 30, 2024 |
Publicly Available Date | Oct 30, 2024 |
Journal | PLoS ONE |
Electronic ISSN | 1932-6203 |
Publisher | Public Library of Science |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Keywords | Workforce, wellbeing, psychological detachment, COVID-19, pandemic, longitudinal, cohort |
Public URL | https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/41141862 |
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Psychological detachment from work predicts mental wellbeing of working-age adults: findings from the ‘Wellbeing of the Workforce’ (WoW) prospective longitudinal cohort study
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