A randomized controlled trial to improve psychological detachment from work and well-being among employees: a study protocol comparing online CBT-based and mindfulness interventions

Background The changing landscape of the work environment, which often encompasses expectations of employees being continuously available, makes it difficult to disengage from work and recover. This can have a negative impact on employees’ well-being, resulting in burnout, depression and anxiety, among other difficulties. The current study will test the effectiveness of two different online interventions (i.e., cognitive behavioral therapy; CBT and mindfulness-based stress reduction; MBSR) on employees’ psychological detachment, burnout and other variables related to general (e.g., life satisfaction) and work-specific (e.g., work engagement) well-being. Methods/design The study is designed as a randomized control trial with two intervention groups (i.e., CBT, MBSR) and a waitlist control group. Participants will be full-time employees from a wide range of organizations from Slovenia, who report moderate difficulties with psychological detachment from work and burnout and are not receiving any other form of treatment. The online interventions will encompass 12 sessions over 6 weeks (2 sessions per week); each session will include 1) an active audio-guided session and 2) home assignments, accompanied by handouts and worksheets. The study outcomes (i.e., psychological detachment, burnout, general and work-specific well-being), potential mechanisms (i.e., work-related maladaptive thinking patterns, mindfulness) and moderators (e.g., supervisor support for recovery) will be assessed immediately before and after the interventions (pre and post measurement) and 3 months after intervention completion (follow-up). Additionally, participants will fill out questionnaires for the assessment of the central mechanisms and study outcomes each week. Discussion We expect that the CBT-based intervention will lead to greater improvements in psychological detachment from work and burnout compared to the MBSR and the waitlist control group. Additionally, we expect that the CBT-based intervention will also lead to greater enhancement of both general and work-related well-being. Trial registration https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN98347361 [May 19, 2020].

The Effect of the Work-Life Interface on Insomnia: A Longitudinal Analysis of Male and Female Employees in Switzerland

This study draws on the Swiss Household Panel and employs specific panel data methods to investigate whether work-life conflict – decomposed into time-, and strain-based conflicts – and lack of recovery during off-job time (i. e. psychological detachment from work) cause insomnia. The findings indicate that, when adequately accounting for individual hetero geneity and the relative importance of multiple causal factors, recovery and recuperation processes appear crucial to the experience of insomnia, while the significance of perceived work-life conflict recede, for both men and women.

Structuring of Time is Key for Job Performance and Well-being: The Case of Croatians Working from Home During COVID-19 Pandemic

In this research, we aimed to explore determinants of job performance and well-being while working from home (WFH) in a specific context of mandatory WFH during COVID-19 lockdown in Croatia, a country where WFH is a highly unusual arrangement. In Study 1, on a nationally representative sample of 166 Croatian employees WFH during lockdown, we tested if aspects of work-life balance (WLB) – work-to-family and family-to-work conflict, time structure of the work day and psychological detachment from work – would predict job performance and well-being. We showed that of the four WLB aspects, only time structure was important both for job performance and well-being. In Study 2, we used a convenient sample of 575 Croatian employees who were WFH during lockdown to investigate conscientiousness, emotional stability and autonomy at work as drivers of the WLB during WFH, and to constructively replicate Study 1 findings using different and more advanced measures. Findings showed that autonomy, conscientiousness and, especially, emotional stability contributed to the WLB and were important for job performance and well-being. WLB, especially time structure, predicted both job performance and well-being, and enhanced time structure mediated the effects of personality traits and autonomy on both outcomes.