Projects / Programmes
Work-home boundary management and burnout: Investigating linking mechanisms and boundary conditions
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.09.00 |
Social sciences |
Psychology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S260 |
Social sciences |
Psychology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.01 |
Social Sciences |
Psychology and cognitive sciences |
Boundaries between work and nonwork, burnout, detachment from work, diary study, longitudinal study, intervention
Researchers (12)
Organisations (3)
Abstract
An “always on” mentality and blurred boundaries between work and private life have become inevitable characteristics of today’s working life for many employees. At the same time, employee reports of stress and burnout are considerably high. Based on the effort-recovery model, is can be assumed that taking work into one’s private life can be associated with negative outcomes. More precisely, one’s work is generally associated with certain amounts of effort expenditure. Consequently, rest after work is necessary to replenish one’s resources (e.g., energy) and be optimally prepared for new job demands. In case of poor work-home segmentation, employees are not fully rested, they have limited time for recovery and, in turn, have to deal with subsequent job demands and stressful work events in a suboptimal psychophysiological condition. When recovery is hampered, acute (e.g., negative affect, exhaustion) or chronic strain reactions and psychological impairments (e.g., burnout) may follow. Although much is known about these associations, crucial aspects are notably absent from the literature. Overall, the present research project encompasses three studies with rigorous research designs which altogether contribute to the understanding of why employees bring their work into their private life and how this affects their work-related well-being. First, a daily diary stated will be conducted to “capture work life as it is lived” and clarify why employees bring their work into their private lives either by working during off-job time, thinking about work or feeling emotionally aroused because of their work at home. In line with the basic tenets of cognitive therapy, it may be assumed that particularly maladaptive thinking patterns prevent employees from disengaging from their work on a daily level. Second, a 4-wave longitudinal study over a course of one year will aim to examine how maladaptive thinking patterns and work-home boundary management contribute to long-term within-person changes in burnout. In general, potential consequences of poor work-home segmentation and the time dynamic in which they occur have not been adequately addressed. As occasionally engaging in work during off-job time is not inevitably negative, it is necessary to determine how greater engagement in work during off-job time also contributes to burnout over longer periods of time and under what conditions. Third, an intervention will be conducted to understand through which mechanism poor work-home segmentation and burnout can be lowered. Maladaptive thinking patterns are proposed to operate as a mechanism of change. Although cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness seem to be helpful, it is not clear why these interventions have effects. In order to refine existing interventions and provide best evidence-based practice, our intervention will directly contrast mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) elements and will help to determine which element are effective, why and with what long-term effects.
Significance for science
The proposed research project is notably relevant from two different viewpoints which altogether contribute to the development of science and a particular scientific field. First, it addresses major national and international societal issues. An “always on” mentality and blurred boundaries have become particularly characteristic for today’s working life (Allen et al., 2014). Among professionals, for instance, almost 30% of employees are regularly stressed out about work when they are not working (Eurofound, 2017). Additionally, all least 40% of workers reported that stress was not handled or managed well in their workplace in a recent survey of 31 European countries (EU-OSHA, 2013). Slovenia and Austria are no exceptions in this regard. Considering these facts, it is unacceptable that in Slovenia no project to date in the field of psychology has been funded covering work and occupational health psychology and these specific topics (Slovenian Current Research Information System, state on March 1 2018). Therefore, researchers in Slovenia and other countries should direct their efforts into understanding how employees can be supported in drawing lines between work and home and cooperating with other stakeholders (e.g., governments, policymakers, management) in order to prevent such a major cost to the society and secure a healthy sustainable workforce.
Second, this project substantially contributes to the scientific literature. The proposed research project extends the existing literature in at least four ways. First, it facilitates understanding of the forms of boundaries between work and home and their maintenance. The majority of work to date focused on the mental boundaries rather than behavioral. This distinction is nuanced but may be of importance, as, for instance, behavioral engagement in work during off-job time may also act as a strategy to prevent rumination about work and may even be functional to a certain extent. Second, it highlights the role of individual characteristics in work-home boundary management, which have been rather neglected to date (Kinnunen et al., 2017; Sonnentag & Fritz, 2015). Specifically, research has not sufficiently covered the question why employees engage cognitively, behaviorally and emotionally in their work during off-job time. Third, the present research sheds light on within-person exhaustion processes from a daily and longitudinal perspective and expands the understanding on how burnout symptoms accumulate across a period of time, which variables predict the accumulation of different burnout symptoms, and which experiences may reverse the burnout process. Finally, the combination of a short-term and long-term within-person design as well as an experimental design allows drawing inferences about the causal nature of the relationships between maladaptive thinking patterns, boundary management, and burnout and thus, informing theory on boundary management and burnout.
Significance for the country
The proposed research project is notably relevant from two different viewpoints which altogether contribute to the development of science and a particular scientific field. First, it addresses major national and international societal issues. An “always on” mentality and blurred boundaries have become particularly characteristic for today’s working life (Allen et al., 2014). Among professionals, for instance, almost 30% of employees are regularly stressed out about work when they are not working (Eurofound, 2017). Additionally, all least 40% of workers reported that stress was not handled or managed well in their workplace in a recent survey of 31 European countries (EU-OSHA, 2013). Slovenia and Austria are no exceptions in this regard. Considering these facts, it is unacceptable that in Slovenia no project to date in the field of psychology has been funded covering work and occupational health psychology and these specific topics (Slovenian Current Research Information System, state on March 1 2018). Therefore, researchers in Slovenia and other countries should direct their efforts into understanding how employees can be supported in drawing lines between work and home and cooperating with other stakeholders (e.g., governments, policymakers, management) in order to prevent such a major cost to the society and secure a healthy sustainable workforce.
Second, this project substantially contributes to the scientific literature. The proposed research project extends the existing literature in at least four ways. First, it facilitates understanding of the forms of boundaries between work and home and their maintenance. The majority of work to date focused on the mental boundaries rather than behavioral. This distinction is nuanced but may be of importance, as, for instance, behavioral engagement in work during off-job time may also act as a strategy to prevent rumination about work and may even be functional to a certain extent. Second, it highlights the role of individual characteristics in work-home boundary management, which have been rather neglected to date (Kinnunen et al., 2017; Sonnentag & Fritz, 2015). Specifically, research has not sufficiently covered the question why employees engage cognitively, behaviorally and emotionally in their work during off-job time. Third, the present research sheds light on within-person exhaustion processes from a daily and longitudinal perspective and expands the understanding on how burnout symptoms accumulate across a period of time, which variables predict the accumulation of different burnout symptoms, and which experiences may reverse the burnout process. Finally, the combination of a short-term and long-term within-person design as well as an experimental design allows drawing inferences about the causal nature of the relationships between maladaptive thinking patterns, boundary management, and burnout and thus, informing theory on boundary management and burnout.
Most important scientific results
Interim report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
