Exploring the relationship between work-related rumination, sleep quality, and work-related fatigue

“…meditation intervention and a relaxation intervention had similar effects on distress, while the meditation intervention had unique effects in decreasing rumination, which, in turn, has been shown to play an important role for sleep quality and recovery from work stress (Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“Several studies found significant results for some strain indicators, but not for others (de Jonge et al., 2012; Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“For example, findings range from less than 1% (e.g., Querstret & Cropley, 2012; Sonnentag, Binnewies, & Mojza, 2010) to as high as 6–10% (e.g., Fritz, Yankelevich, Zarubin, & Barger, 2010; Sonnentag, Kuttler, & Fritz, 2010) of the variance explained in the relationship between evening psychological…”

“This results in continued psychophysiological activation during non-work time that hinders sleep (Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“We base this prediction on research showing that rumination is associated with work-related fatigue and an inability to psychologically detach from work-related problems (Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“In examining the effects of the self-training intervention on recovery, we focus on three key aspects, namely psychological detachment from work, sleep quality, and sleep duration (Fritz et al., 2010; Pereira, Meier, & Elfering, 2013; Querstret & Cropley, 2012; Sonnentag et al., 2012).”

“This position is supported by a recent study in the occupational health literature which measured two distinct but related forms of work-related rumination – affective rumination and problem-solving pondering – in a large sample (N=719) of working adults (Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“…work-related rumination has been associated with reduced sleep quality, including insomnia and longer time to fall asleep (Guastella & Moulds, 2007; Querstret & Cropley, 2012; Thomsen, Mehlsen, Christensen, & Zachariae, 2003; Vahle-Hinz, Bamberg, Dettmers, Friedrich, & Keller, 2014; Watkins, 2008).”

“In fact, a deficient mental Thiart et al detachment has been found to mediate the negative relation between work stress and insomnia complaints (16–17); and (iii) Recreational activities are one way of fostering psychological detachment and restorative sleep by abstracting the mind from…”

“Ruminative response to stress has been identified as contributing to the development and maintenance of depression [21], impaired somatic and mental health [22] and increase in work-related fatigue [23].”

“As an interesting link between futile mental activity and energy, rumination appears to be the strongest psychological predictor of fatigue (Querstret and Cropley, 2012), the subjective experience of energy deficiency.”

“We have to note, however, that in conceptual terms, lack of psychological detachment is distinct from worry and rumination - although the concepts are substantially related (Flaxman, Ménard, Bond, & Kinman, 2012; Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“In a previous study, Cronbach’s alphas have been reported as Affective Rumination .90, and ProblemSolving Pondering .81 (Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“A recent crosssectional study showed that only affective rumination was negatively related to well-being; in contrast, problem-solving pondering was positively related to well-being (Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“Moreover, in a competitive climate where success depends on how well one can outshine others, employees may find it hard to unwind after work, to stop overthinking work-related activities, and get some sleep (Perlow, 2012; Querstret and Cropley, 2012; Sonnentag et al., 2008).”

“Unfinished work tasks and negative events at work can also lead employees to ruminate about work when trying to fall asleep, which then undermines their sleep (Querstret & Cropley, 2012; Syrek & Antoni, 2014).”

“On the one hand, cross-sectional studies (e.g., Berset, Elfering, Lüthy, Lüthi, & Semmer, 2011; Querstret & Cropley, 2012) and diary studies (e.g., Cropley, Rydstedt, Devereux, & Middleton, 2015; Wang et al., 2013) have consistently demonstrated that negative work reflection is harmful for…”

“Additionally, (re-)considering a work-related problem during one’s spare time and finding a solution for this problem may even be beneficial for health and well-being (Cropley et al., 2012; Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“Deepening our knowledge on the proactivity–rumination relationship is important because mentally disconnecting from work-related problems during off-work hours is a prerequisite for recovery, and thus optimal well-being (Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“According to Querstret and Cropley (2012), pondering does not necessarily prolong physiological activation because emotional reaction is not evoked to the same extent as in affective rumination.”

“…in terms of subjective lack of sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness at work, difficulty awakening in the morning, feeling tired when waking up in the morning (Kubota et al., 2010), work-related fatigue (Querstret & Cropley, 2012) and burnout (Söderström, Jeding, Ekstedt, Perski, & Åkerstedt, 2012).”

“Importantly, psychological detachment is more than being physically away from work; it entails feeling mentally disconnected from work by refraining from work-related thoughts and activities (Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“…positive work reflection (e.g., Casper et al, 2018; Meier et al., 2016) and problemsolving pondering (i.e., thinking about work issues to solve them; Querstret & Cropley, 2012) during off-work time may benefit employees more when they return to work, in comparison to complete detachment from…”

“Recovery has been defined as the psycho-physiological unwinding after effort expenditure at work (Geurts & Sonnentag, 2006) and adequate recovery prevents the accumulation of fatigue (Meijman and Mulder, 1998; Querstret & Cropley, 2012; Zijlstra & Sonnentag, 2006).”

“In fact, a number of studies have argued and shown that psychological detachment after work facilitates subsequent sleep quality ( Akerstedt, Nordin, Alfredsson, Westerholm, & Kecklund, 2012; Cropley, Dijk, & Stanley, 2006; H€ulsheger et al., 2014; Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“Some people think about uncompleted tasks, others ruminate about a problem that needs to be solved, and still others think about relationship issues with colleagues or negative events at work (Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“Second, we looked at sleep problems because workaholics find it difficult to detach from work (Scott et al., 1997) and sleep problems are indicative of ongoing rumination and distress (Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“…we defined work-related rumination in line with Cropley and Zijlstra (2011) who have included three concepts under work-related rumination (see also Querstret & Cropley, 2012; Zijlstra et al., 2014): affective work-related rumination, problem-solving pondering and lack of psychological detachment…”

“, intrusive and/or annoying) ruminative thoughts about work during non-work time, and has demonstrated good psychometric properties among various samples of UK workers [47, 49].”

“This was supported by previous studies demonstrating increased rumination and an inability to ‘unwind’ at home resulting from high work stress (Cropley & Purvis, 2003; Kompier, Taris, & van Veldhoven, 2011; Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“Perseverative thoughts have been linked to poor sleep quality and longer sleep onset latency (Querstret & Cropley, 2012; Thomsen, Mehlsen, Christensen, & Zachariae, 2003; Zoccola, Dickerson, & Lam, 2009), and they also interfere with cortisol recovery patterns and increase inflammation (both…”

“This finding is also in line with past research that has found more detrimental health effects for emotionally laden repetitive thoughts rather than for problem-solving pondering (e.g.Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“For instance, studies have found that anxious individuals tend to experience persistent negative rumination (Modini et al., 2018), which leads to fatigue (Querstret and Cropley, 2012).”

“…been associated with a range of health complaints (Pravettoni et al., 2007; Gustafsson et al., 2008; Rydstedt et al., 2009; Sonnentag et al., 2010; Querstret and Cropley, 2012; Cropley et al., 2013), but importantly, and of relevance for the present study, failure to unwind from work has been…”

“A measure developed by Querstret and Cropley (2012) was utilized to assess recovery experiences.”

“…job demands make it more difficult to disengage from work (Sonnentag & Fritz, 2015), as well as previous variable-oriented findings specifically on the positive relationship between job demands and WRR (Berset et al., 2011; Cropley & Purvis, 2003; Querstret & Cropley, 2012; Syrek & Antoni, 2014).”

“Studies have shown that rumination is a strong predictor of acute and chronic work-related fatigue (Querstret and Cropley 2012) and self-defeating behaviors such as heavy alcohol use (Frone 2015).”

“Much research has focused on sleep problems, which are associated with negative experiences such as lower PA (Steptoe et al., 2009) and fatigue (Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“Thinking about negative work-related issues during off-job time hinders employee recovery from work and thus impairs employee well-being, health and job performance (Fritz & Sonnentag, 2006; Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“Being equipped with the skills to prevent the negative effects of overthinking or ruminating on negative events has clear applications to occupational contexts, and mindfulness practice has been argued to be related to a number of factors relevant to postwork recovery, including greater work engagement [26], improved…”

“In the present study we focus on three forms of work-related thoughts and worries, located recently under the concept of workrelated rumination (Cropley & Zijlstra, 2011; Querstret & Cropley, 2012), through which work demands may be present during nonwork time.”

“Finally, in order to rule out potential suppressor effects (Querstret & Cropley, 2012), we control for workrelated worry or planning, respectively, when predicting next-morning well-being.”

“Similarly, previous research suggests that specifically work-related affective rumination and perseverative cognitions are associated with poor sleep quality (Berset et al., 2011; Querstret & Cropley, 2012; Radstaak, Geurts, Beckers, Brosschot, & Kompier, 2014).”

“Although direct effects between justice perceptions and indicators of health have gained empirical support (Robbins et al., 2012), rather limited attention has been given to the underlying processes.”

“On the other hand, when thinking about work is unwanted and outside of one’s control, this could compromise the recovery process and lead to ill health in the long-term (Querstret and Cropley, 2012; Sonnentag and Fritz, 2015).”

“…well-being, the mediating role of recovery A number of cross- sectional and longitudinal studies have consistently shown that work-related affective rumination is negatively associated with well-being (Donahue et al., 2012; Firoozabadi et al., 2018; Hamesch et al., 2014; Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“Work‐ related rumination, in turn, has been linked to poorer employee sleep quality, fatigue (Berset et al., 2011; Querstret & Cropley, 2012), and alcohol use (Frone, 2015).”

“…of perseverative work-related thinking, such as worry and rumination, have been found to be especially detrimental to employees’ wellbeing and recovery (e.g., Cropley, Michalianou, Pravettoni, & Millward, 2012; Flaxman, Ménard, Bond, & Kinman, 2012; Querstret & Cropley, 2012; Wang et al., 2013).”

“Work-related rumination is a cognitive representation of a stressful event at work that is accompanied by negative emotional feelings (Cropley, Michalianou, Pravettoni, & Millward, 2012; Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“However, some scholars have also acknowledged that rumination can result in problemfocused coping reactions, by which individuals try to find a solution to the problematic situation that caused the rumination process (Querstret and Cropley, 2012).”

“Furthermore, affective rumination has been associated with poor sleep.(57) Given the nature of wildland firefighting, it would be realistic to assume affective rumination may be a real cause of sleep disturbances.”

“Low psychological detachment does not necessarily mean to have negative or even ruminative thoughts about work (Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“Querstret and Cropley (2012) noted that recovery from work, which can be hindered by work-related rumination, is based largely on two psychological theories.”

“…disturbances (e.g. Hanson et al., 2011; Van Laethem et al., 2013) and other health-related outcomes, such as rumination (e.g. Cropley et al., 2006; Querstret and Cropley, 2012), detachment (e.g. Sonnentag and Bayer, 2005; Wendsche and Lohmann-Haislah, 2016) and sickness absence (e.g. Labriola et…”

“A key example of poor post-work recovery was given by Darren, who stated that he does not feel refreshed after “unwinding” from work: he may not have been unwinding at all, but engaging in what is referred to as “work-related affective rumination” (33,34), which involves dwelling on events from his shift, but remainin…”

“In modelling how ruminative thought links work anxiety to helping behaviours, we focus on affective rumination, which is characterized by repetitive work-related thoughts and continued physiological arousal during leisure time (Querstret & Cropley, 2012).”

“External recovery takes place outside of work and occurs during leisure time, and arguably the most important external recovery activity is good quality sleep (Querstret and Cropley 2012).”