Titel
Investigating the nature of psychological reattachment to work in the morning: A qualitative study
Autor*in
Klaus G. Melchers
Institute of Psychology and Education, Universität Ulm
Abstract
Psychological reattachment to work means mentally reconnecting with one’s work before or upon returning to work in the morning. Recent studies revealed its potential to boost daily work engagement, demonstrating its relevance to research and practice. Despite this, no studies have explored the components of psychological reattachment and why and how employees reattach to their work. Yet, to expand the theoretical understanding of psychological reattachment and to apply its potential in practice, it is crucial to dive deeper into the details around this process. Therefore, this study employs a qualitative approach to test existing theoretical assumptions on psychological reattachment, uncover additional manifestations of psychological reattachment, examine its unfolding process, and identify potential predictors, benefits, and drawbacks. Our methodological procedure comprises the multi-coding of qualitative material from 35 employees with diverse backgrounds. One of our main findings is that when anticipating upcoming demands during the workday, employees also anticipate how to meet those demands. Furthermore, the more demands are expected, the longer it takes employees to mentally reattach to their work. This hints at how psychological reattachment might resemble a preventive coping mechanism for job demands during the day.
Stichwort
Psychological reattachmentwork–nonwork interfaceboundary managementrole
transitionsqualitative
research
Objekt-Typ
Sprache
Englisch [eng]
Persistent identifier
phaidra.univie.ac.at/o:2083438
Erschienen in
Titel
European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology
Band
33
Ausgabe
4
ISSN
1359-432X
Erscheinungsdatum
2024
Seitenanfang
446
Seitenende
461
Publication
Informa UK Limited
Erscheinungsdatum
2024
Zugänglichkeit
Rechte
Rechteangabe
© 2024 The Author(s)
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