The DOI matches its Crossref record; 80 of the 81 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Zeigarnik’s sleepless nights: How unfinished tasks at the end of the week impair employee sleep on the weekend through rumination
Abstract
It is almost common sense that work stress leads to sleep impairment, but the question of how work-related stressors impair employee sleep remains open. This study focuses on the role of rumination as the underlying mechanism for sleep impairment. Specifically, the authors contribute to recent research differentiating affective rumination from problem-solving pondering and examine the impact of both forms of rumination on the stressor-sleep relationship. Following theories of rumination and the Zeigarnik effect, they focus on unfinished tasks as a key onset for rumination. Unfinished tasks have received much research attention in the memory context but have been neglected as a stressor that can impact recovery. Drawing on theory, differential indirect links between unfinished tasks and sleep through affective rumination versus problem-solving pondering are examined. Further, the number of unfinished tasks extending over a 3-month period may impair employee sleep more than unfinished tasks within the acute phase. In this study, intraindividual links in a diary study supplemented by depicting between-person effects of unfinished tasks over a period of 3 months are examined. The authors matched 357 Friday and Monday observations over a 12-week interval for 59 employees. The results of the multilevel analysis suggest that the within-person relationship between unfinished tasks and sleep is mediated by affective rumination. Although problem-solving pondering was negatively related…
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“Employees are therefore likely to ruminate about work during the weekend when they have unfinished tasks [12]”
From Ovsiankina's Great Relief: How Supplemental Work during the Weekend May Contribute to Recovery in the Face of Unfinished Tasks (2017) · cites this paper as [12]
In the citing paper
“Researchers in the domain of occupational stress and recovery have recently revealed that unattained goals at the end of the work day [11] or unfinished tasks at the end of the work week [1,12] are associated with higher levels of perseverative thoughts about work during leisure time, in terms of either lower levels of psychological detachment and higher levels of affective rumination or problem-”
From Ovsiankina's Great Relief: How Supplemental Work during the Weekend May Contribute to Recovery in the Face of Unfinished Tasks (2017) · cites this paper as [12]
In the citing paper
“The feeling of relief that accompanies the perception of progress [12,13] might trigger the perception of having more control over the subsequent time off work.”
From Ovsiankina's Great Relief: How Supplemental Work during the Weekend May Contribute to Recovery in the Face of Unfinished Tasks (2017) · cites this paper as [12]
In the citing paper
“Throughout this manuscript, we have argued that unfinished tasks are associated with inner tension and rumination [2,12,13].”
From Ovsiankina's Great Relief: How Supplemental Work during the Weekend May Contribute to Recovery in the Face of Unfinished Tasks (2017) · cites this paper as [12]
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Advances in recovery research: What have we learned? What should be done next?
Sonnentag, S., Venz, L., & Casper, A. (2017) · Journal of Occupational Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/ocp0000079 · Cited by 587
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“…other words, if one ruminates about a work-related problem during off-job time but finds a solution to this problem or develops a strategy to deal with it, this may lead to positive emotions and a sense of accomplishment, or help to subsequently mentally detach from work (see Syrek et al., 2016).”
BackgroundA resources perspective on when and how proactive work behaviour leads to employee withdrawal
Pingel, R., Fay, D., & Urbach, T. (2019) · Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1111/joop.12254 · Cited by 108
Kinnunen, U. M., Feldt, T., Sianoja, M., de Bloom, J., Korpela, K., & Geurts, S. A. E. (2017) · European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1080/1359432x.2017.1314265 · Cited by 119
“Time pressure has hitherto been examined in the context of affective rumination and problem-solving pondering in only a few studies (Hamesch et al., 2014; Querstret & Cropley, 2012; Syrek et al., 2016).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialPlease wait until I am done! Longitudinal effects of work interruptions on employee well-being
Keller, A. C., Meier, L. L., Elfering, A., & Semmer, N. K. (2019) · Work & Stress · doi:10.1080/02678373.2019.1579266 · Cited by 103
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“The scale has been adapted to German [78].”
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Pindek, S., Arvan, M. L., & Spector, P. E. (2018) · Work & Stress · doi:10.1080/02678373.2018.1445672 · Cited by 100
Kerman, K., Korunka, C., & Tement, S. (2021) · Applied Psychology · doi:10.1111/apps.12335 · Cited by 87
“Furthermore, although unfinished tasks have been linked to employee outcomes, such as affective rumination and well-being (Peifer et al., 2019; Syrek et al., 2017), the literature examining unfinished tasks is still scarce, both generally and in the context of telework.”
BackgroundBeing mindful at work and at home: Buffering effects in the stressor–detachment model
Haun, V. C., Nübold, A., & Bauer, A. G. (2018) · Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1111/joop.12200 · Cited by 94
Work, Nonwork, and Sleep (WNS): a Review and Conceptual Framework
Crain, T. L., Brossoit, R. M., & Fisher, G. G. (2017) · Journal of Business and Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10869-017-9521-x · Cited by 82
Kinnunen, U. M., Feldt, T., & de Bloom, J. (2019) · Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1111/joop.12256 · Cited by 81
“Job stressors are closely related to work-related rumination (Kinnunen et al., 2017; Syrek et al., 2017).”
BackgroundMethodJimenez, W. P., Hu, X., & Xu, X. V. (2021) · Journal of Business and Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10869-021-09742-7 · Cited by 88
Weigelt, O., Syrek, C. J., Schmitt, A., & Urbach, T. (2018) · Journal of Occupational Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/ocp0000117 · Cited by 75
“Rumination is particularly likely to occur during the weekend, as the weekend usually covers more than a couple of hours in which work cannot be resumed (Syrek et al., 2017).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialSelf-citationThe Association between Work-Related Rumination and Heart Rate Variability: A Field Study
Cropley, M., Plans, D., Morelli, D., Sütterlin, S., Inceoglu, I., Thomas, G., & Chu, C. (2017) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2017.00027 · Cited by 60
“For example, a worker may ruminate about an important project deadline, an unfinished task, stress over a future meeting, or they may perseverate about something negative that was said to them by their line manager or colleague at work (Cropley and Millward, 2009; Syrek et al., 2016).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialMäkikangas, A., Hyvönen, K., & Feldt, T. (2017) · Burnout Research · doi:10.1016/j.burn.2017.04.002 · Cited by 60
Koch, J., & Schermuly, C. C. (2021) · British Journal of Management · doi:10.1111/1467-8551.12536 · Cited by 58
Perko, K., Kinnunen, U. M., & Feldt, T. (2017) · Work & Stress · doi:10.1080/02678373.2017.1330835 · Cited by 68
“recent studies (Smit & Barber, 2016; Syrek et al., 2017) support the view that ruminative thoughts are triggered by unattained goals (Martin & Tesser, 1996).”
BackgroundInfluentialFiroozabadi, A., Uitdewilligen, S., & Zijlstra, F. (2016) · Journal of Occupational Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/ocp0000068 · Cited by 58
Thieves of Flow: How Unfinished Tasks at Work are Related to Flow Experience and Wellbeing
Peifer, C., Syrek, C. J., Ostwald, V., Schuh, E., & Antoni, C. H. (2019) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-019-00149-z · Cited by 66
Self-citationPrem, R., Scheel, T., Weigelt, O., Hoffmann, K., & Korunka, C. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01087 · Cited by 71
Self-citationAppreciation by supervisors buffers the impact of work interruptions on well-being longitudinally.
Stocker, D., Keller, A. C., Meier, L. L., Elfering, A., Pfister, I. B., Jacobshagen, N., & Semmer, N. K. (2018) · International Journal of Stress Management · doi:10.1037/str0000111 · Cited by 65
“…negative affect; these should increase in response to concerns about unfinished tasks and the threats that interruptions pose to goal attainment (for a recent examination of the Zeigarnik effect, see Syrek et al., 2017) and should decrease due to one’s being appreciated (Stocker et al., 2014).”
Syrek, C. J., Weigelt, O., Kühnel, J., & de Bloom, J. (2018) · Work & Stress · doi:10.1080/02678373.2018.1427816 · Cited by 53
“…tasks We assessed over the 15-week period work-related unfinished tasks on Fridays and personal unfinished tasks on Mondays referring to the weekend with four items each adapted from Syrek et al. (2017), e.g. “I have not finished important work tasks that I had planned to do this work week.””
BackgroundMethodSelf-citationReinke, K., & Ohly, S. (2021) · German Journal of Human Resource Management Zeitschrift für Personalforschung · doi:10.1177/2397002221995797 · Cited by 52
“…positive ICT use appraisal and psychological detachment is moderated by the extent of ICT use: If ICT use is evaluated as positive but at the same time, extent of ICT use after hours is high, there should be very little time left to detach and recover in the evening (Weigelt and Syrek, 2017).”
BackgroundInfluentialWeigelt, O., Siestrup, K., & Prem, R. (2021) · Journal of Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1002/job.2514 · Cited by 46
“We applied items adapted to German by other researchers (Syrek et al., 2017).”
MethodSelf-citationIs Work-Related Rumination Associated with Deficits in Executive Functioning?
Cropley, M., Zijlstra, F. R. H., Querstret, D., & Beck, S. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01524 · Cited by 46
“Workers tend to ruminate over tasks that are unfinished (Syrek and Antoni, 2014; Syrek et al., 2016).”
BackgroundMethodFiroozabadi, A., Uitdewilligen, S., & Zijlstra, F. (2018) · European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1080/1359432x.2018.1505720 · Cited by 51
“Regarding the within-person research, Syrek et al. (2017) showed a positive relationship between affective rumination and sleep impairment and a marginally negative relationship between problem-solving pondering and sleep impairment during the weekend.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialExploring predictors and consequences of embitterment in the workplace
Michailidis, E., & Cropley, M. (2016) · Ergonomics · doi:10.1080/00140139.2016.1255783 · Cited by 45
Psychological detachment and work-related rumination in teachers: A systematic review
Varol, Y. Z., Weiher, G. M., & Horz, H. (2020) · Educational Research Review · doi:10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100354 · Cited by 63
Eichberger, C., Derks, D., & Zacher, H. (2020) · German Journal of Human Resource Management Zeitschrift für Personalforschung · doi:10.1177/2397002220968188 · Cited by 50
“Furthermore, TASW can be a chance to complete unfinished tasks which can be beneficial for sleep (Syrek et al., 2017).”
BackgroundMullen, P., Backer, A., Chae, N., & Li, H. (2020) · Professional School Counseling · doi:10.1177/2156759x20957253 · Cited by 30
“Most of the research on work-related rumination does not focus on positive traits, such as job satisfaction or work engagement, but instead looks at work-related rumination in relationship to stress (Querstret & Cropley, 2012) and sleep (Hamesch et al., 2014; Querstret & Cropley, 2012; Syrek et al., 2016).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialFueling Work Engagement: The Role of Sleep, Health, and Overtime
Schleupner, R., & Kühnel, J. (2021) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.592850 · Cited by 48
Zhang, H., Zhou, Z. E., Zhang, L., Liu, Y., & Shi, Y. (2023) · Applied Psychology · doi:10.1111/apps.12507 · Cited by 41
Cropley, M., & Collis, H. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00821 · Cited by 43
Always on, never done? How the mind recovers after a stressful workday?
Wendsche, J., de Bloom, J., Syrek, C. J., & Vahle‐Hinz, T. (2021) · German Journal of Human Resource Management Zeitschrift für Personalforschung · doi:10.1177/23970022211004598 · Cited by 47
“Studies on work-related thoughts suggest the same antecedents for affective rumination and problem-solving pondering (e.g. Syrek et al., 2017; Vahle-Hinz et al., 2014).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSelf-citationWorking from home during lockdown: the association between rest breaks and well-being
Cropley, M., Weidenstedt, L., Leick, B., & Sütterlin, S. (2022) · Ergonomics · doi:10.1080/00140139.2022.2095038 · Cited by 43
“Other studies have also demonstrated that the WRRQ has good reliability and validity (Cropley and Collis 2020; Syrek et al. 2017).”
BackgroundFeng, X. (2022) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941221122881 · Cited by 34
“Rumination prolongs an individual ’ s physiological and psychological activation in response to stressors, thereby weakening their ability to recover and enter the state of fl ow therefrom (Demsky et al., 2019; Syrek et al., 2017).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialWeigelt, O., & Syrek, C. (2017) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph14121606 · Cited by 30
“We argued above that the presence of unfinished tasks is detrimental to recovery and employee well-being as it prevents mental disengagement [1,11,12].”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialSelf-citationHeissler, C., Kern, M., & Ohly, S. (2022) · Journal of Business and Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10869-021-09781-0 · Cited by 37
“According to Syrek et al., (2017, p. 227), unfinished tasks “refer to tasks that the employee aimed to finish (or make certain progress [on]), but which were left undone (or left in an unsatisfactory state) when the employee stopped working.””
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialImproving the Lives of Leaders: The Beneficial Effects of Positive Leader Self-Reflection
Lanaj, K., Foulk, T. A., & Jennings, R. E. (2022) · Journal of Management · doi:10.1177/01492063221110205 · Cited by 33
Scullin, M. K., Krueger, M. L., Ballard, H. K., Pruett, N., & Bliwise, D. L. (2017) · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · doi:10.1037/xge0000374 · Cited by 33
“…is surprising in light of the evidence that unfinished tasks are a significant source of cognitive activation and worry (Bugg & Scullin, 2013; Goshke & Kuhl, 1993; Kecklund & Akerstedt, 2004; Martin & Tesser, 1996; Söderström et al., 2004; Syrek & Antoni, 2014; Syrek et al., 2016; Zeigarnik, 1938).”
BackgroundResultZhang, L., Qiu, Y., Zhang, N., & Li, S. (2019) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/0033294119826887 · Cited by 30
Gesundheitsfördernde Arbeitsgestaltung im Homeoffice im Kontext der COVID-19-Pandemie
Mojtahedzadeh, N., Rohwer, E., Lengen, J. C., Harth, V., & Mache, S. (2021) · Zentralblatt für Arbeitsmedizin Arbeitsschutz und Ergonomie · doi:10.1007/s40664-020-00419-1 · Cited by 33
Scheibe, S., Retzlaff, L., Hommelhoff, S., & Schmitt, A. (2024) · Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1111/joop.12512 · Cited by 40
Pauli, R., Gaum, P. M., Cropley, M., & Lang, J. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1013744 · Cited by 29
“, 2007; Pauli and Lang, 2021a) or over time (Syrek et al., 2017; Kinnunen et al., 2019; e.g., Hamesch et al., 2014), to the best of our knowledge, preconditions for such comparisons, i.”
BackgroundLeader support for recovery: A multi‐level approach to employee psychological detachment from work
Sonnentag, S., Kark, R., & Venz, L. (2024) · Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1111/joop.12538 · Cited by 35
The Role of Trait and State Perfectionism in Psychological Detachment From Daily Job Demands
Reis, D., & Prestele, E. (2019) · Stress and Health · doi:10.1002/smi.2901 · Cited by 29
Qian, S., Zhang, X., & Liu, J. (2024) · Baltic Journal of Management · doi:10.1108/bjm-01-2024-0023 · Cited by 30
Cyberloafing: Exploring the Role of Psychological Wellbeing and Social Media Learning
Krishna, S. M., & Agrawal, S. (2023) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs13080649 · Cited by 40
“Researchers have questioned the generally held belief that cyberloafing is always harmful, stating that it can help people recover faster [82] and be more involved in their subsequent work [84].”
BackgroundXie, H., & Feng, X. (2023) · Journal of Managerial Psychology · doi:10.1108/jmp-03-2022-0140 · Cited by 25
Game Dynamics that Support Snacking, not Feasting
Alexandrovsky, D., Friehs, M. A., Birk, M. V., Yates, R. K., & Mandryk, R. L. (2019) · Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play · doi:10.1145/3311350.3347151 · Cited by 23
“Furthermore, as the Zeigarnik Effect shows, unfinished tasks (such as uncompleted missions) have an innate pull [85, 119], and the satisfaction provided by in-game completion increases with age [15].”
BackgroundChallenge and hindrance stressors in relation to sleep
French, K. A., Allen, T. D., & Henderson, T. G. (2019) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.01.009 · Cited by 23
“, sleep onset latency and disturbed sleep), whereas challenge stressors such as time pressure are weakly or not significantly associated with sleep quality (e.g., Åkerstedt et al., 2004; Eriksen et al., 2008; Knudsen et al., 2007; Syrek et al., 2017).”
BackgroundZhang, J., Li, W., Ma, H., & Smith, A. P. (2020) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/0033294120968080 · Cited by 22
“The classic Zeigarnik effect suggests that humans are naturally obsessed with unfinished goals (Syrek et al., 2017).”
BackgroundAhmetoglu, Y., Brumby, D. P., & Cox, A. L. (2021) · Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1145/3432921 · Cited by 21
“to collaborate efficiently on multiple projects[15], to spend time on the tasks that matter to them most [29], and to ensure they spend quality time away from work to recuperate from work stress [43].”
BackgroundExploring the Relationship Between Work Stress and Work-related Rumination
Zhang, J., Liu, F., & Smith, A. P. (2023) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941231168783 · Cited by 20
“This may explain the failure of some previous studies to fi nd a mediating role in problem-solving rumination (e.g., Syrek et al., 2017; Vandevala et al., 2017).”
InfluentialHaun, V. C., & Oppenauer, V. (2019) · Journal of Occupational Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/ocp0000156 · Cited by 23
Ballesio, A., Ghezzi, V., Vacca, M., Ottaviani, C., & Lombardo, C. (2019) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2019.09.003 · Cited by 23
MacNeil, S., Deschênes, S. S., Caldwell, W., Brouillard, M., Dang-Vu, T.-T., & Gouin, J.-P. (2017) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12160-017-9915-z · Cited by 24
How leaders benefit from engaging in high-quality leader-member exchanges: a daily diary study
Richter-Killenberg, S., & Volmer, J. (2022) · Journal of Managerial Psychology · doi:10.1108/jmp-06-2021-0370 · Cited by 28
Chen, H., Wang, L., & Bao, J. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.925029 · Cited by 18
“Research shows that the higher the leaders’ job requirements or performance expectations on employees, the more obvious the rumination of employees related to work (Perko et al., 2017; Syrek et al., 2017).”
BackgroundTement, S., Zorjan, S., Lavrič, M., Poštuvan, V., & Plohl, N. (2020) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-020-09691-5 · Cited by 21
Uhlig, L., Baumgartner, V. C., Prem, R., Siestrup, K., Korunka, C., & Kubicek, B. (2023) · Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1111/joop.12430 · Cited by 20
“Therefore, planning behaviour may allow employees to experience cognitive resolution and make work less cognitively available when employees are not working (Johnson et al., 2006; Syrek et al., 2017).”
BackgroundResultAlexandrovsky, D., Friehs, M. A., Grittner, J., Putze, S., Birk, M. V., Malaka, R., & Mandryk, R. L. (2021) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3411764.3445689 · Cited by 21
“Moreover, Completion addresses the Zeigarnik Efect and initiates a pull to complete unfnished tasks [68, 105]”
BackgroundSayre, G. M., Grandey, A. A., & Almeida, D. M. (2020) · Journal of Occupational Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/ocp0000192 · Cited by 16
“Conversely, on days when individuals complete more tasks than normal, they are more able to relax and invest in their personal health (Syrek et al., 2017).”
BackgroundChan, X. W., Kalliath, P., Fan, S. X., & Kalliath, T. J. (2022) · The International Journal of Human Resource Management · doi:10.1080/09585192.2022.2045620 · Cited by 16
“Another reason that could potentially explain why it was difficult for them to switch off was that the unfinished work lingered on in their minds and caused them to ruminate on the incomplete work tasks (Syrek et al., 2017).”
BackgroundFeng, X., Han, P., & Tong, J. T. (2023) · Applied Psychology · doi:10.1111/apps.12500 · Cited by 18
Patient mistreatment and new nurse adjustment: The role of rumination and work engagement
Wang, H., Li, P., Bauer, T. N., & Erdoğan, B. (2023) · Human Relations · doi:10.1177/00187267231211847 · Cited by 16
“When a new nurse engages in rumination, it can lead to the depletion of physical and mental resources (Syrek et al., 2017), resulting in reduced vigor.”
Weigelt, O., Schmitt, A., Syrek, C. J., & Ohly, S. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18136699 · Cited by 17
“To infer accumulation, we estimated so-called emergent or compositional effects leveraging multilevel modeling procedures [61,67,70,71].”
MethodSelf-citationSmyth, A., de Bloom, J., Syrek, C. J., Domin, M., Janneck, M., Reins, J. A., & Lehr, D. (2020) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-020-09354-5 · Cited by 15
Self-citationPauli, R., & Lang, J. (2021) · German Journal of Human Resource Management Zeitschrift für Personalforschung · doi:10.1177/23970022211002361 · Cited by 18
“, 2012), impaired sleep quality (Berset et al., 2011; Cropley et al., 2006; Syrek et al., 2017; Vahle-Hinz et al., 2014) and somatic health outcomes (Ottaviani et al.”
BackgroundReattachment to work in the morning and day-level leader outcomes
Fritz, C., Auten, D., & Caughlin, D. E. (2021) · Journal of Vocational Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2021.103617 · Cited by 15
Rosario-Hernández, E., Rovira-Millán, L. V., & Merino‐Soto, C. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.774472 · Cited by 15
“, 2020), 11 used the affective and problem-solving pondering subscales (Bisht, 2017; Kinnunen et al., 2017, 2019; Querstret et al., 2017; Syrek et al., 2017; Vahle-Hinz et al., 2017; Firoozabadi et al., 2018a,b; Junker et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2020; Pauli and Lang, 2021), two studies used the problem-solving ponder…”
BackgroundDo behavioural intentions matter? A diary study on work-related ICT-use after work hours
Gadeyne, N., Darouei, M., Verbruggen, M., Delanoeije, J., & de Beeck, S. O. (2023) · European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1080/1359432x.2023.2225773 · Cited by 13
“Daily unfinished tasks were measured at t1 (at 3 pm) with three items of the scale of Syrek and colleagues (Syrek et al., 2017).”
BackgroundMethodEstablishing a Recovery Menu to Increase the Resilience of Entrepreneurs
Battisti, M., Gish, J. J., Hatak, I., & Zhou, H. (2024) · British Journal of Management · doi:10.1111/1467-8551.12827 · Cited by 16
Adaptation of Work-Related Rumination Scale into Turkish
Akyüz, B. S., & Sulak, S. (2019) · Eğitimde ve Psikolojide Ölçme ve Değerlendirme Dergisi · doi:10.21031/epod.542872 · Cited by 13
“According to current study results, factor structure of the scale was similar to German translation (Syrek et al., 2017) as well as Persian translation (Firoozabadi et al., 2018).”
MethodResultInfluential“Win‐win”: Dual‐path influence of workplace spirituality on work‐family enrichment
Liu, Y., Si, Z., Shi, Y., Li, B., Liu, P., Liu, S., & Sun, Q. (2024) · Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1111/joop.12495 · Cited by 13
Stuck on the Train of Ruminative Thoughts: The Effect of Aggressive Fantasy on Subjective Well-Being
Poon, K., & Wong, W.-Y. (2018) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/0886260518812796 · Cited by 13
“…related to past stressful or traumatic experiences, in the sense that people ruminate more subsequent to experiencing natural disasters, or sudden deaths of loved ones, or when confronting office work that they have not yet accomplished (e.g., Roberts, Watkins, & Wills, 2013; Syrek et al., 2017).”
BackgroundFlaxman, P. E., Stride, C., Newman, S., & Ménard, J. (2022) · Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1111/joop.12410 · Cited by 12
“…rationale underpinning this proposition stems from the classic Zeigarnik and Ovsiankina effects (Ovsiankina, 1928; Zeigarnik, 1938; also see Syrek et al., 2017; Weigelt & Syrek, 2017), and the more contemporary control theory account of human self-regulation (Carver & Scheier, 1990, 1998,…”
BackgroundNoja, A., Tement, S., & Kubicek, B. (2023) · Journal of Occupational Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/ocp0000364 · Cited by 11
Jiao, Y., Huang, Y., Wen, T., & OuYang, M. (2025) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104301 · Cited by 11
Petrou, P. (2021) · The International Journal of Human Resource Management · doi:10.1080/09585192.2021.1945653 · Cited by 10
“Because of this tension, interrupted tasks are easier to recall by individuals, which has been called the ‘Zeigarnik effect’ (Syrek et al., 2017, p. 227; Zeigarnik, 1927).”
BackgroundWeiher, G. M., Varol, Y. Z., & Horz, H. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.935775 · Cited by 12
“The effects of unfinished tasks have been demonstrated in numerous studies (Syrek et al., 2017; Weigelt et al., 2018).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialGössmann, K., Schmid, R. F., Loos, C., Orthmann, A. B. A., Rosner, R., & Barke, A. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1003171 · Cited by 10
Schleupner, R., Kühnel, J., Melchers, K. G., & Richter, S. S. (2023) · Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1111/joop.12424 · Cited by 12
Manuoğlu, E. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0291312 · Cited by 12
Ding, C., Su, M., Pei, J., Zhu, C. J., & Zhao, S. (2024) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-024-05900-y · Cited by 10
“Even if the problem remains unsolved, problem-solving pondering can still lead to plans for addressing the task, which promotes recovery (Syrek et al., 2017).”
Otto, K., & Kleszewski, E. (2025) · Scandinavian Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.16993/sjwop.280 · Cited by 9
Weigand, R., & Jacobsen, T. (2021) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1177/17470218211050194 · Cited by 9
“Unfinished tasks are tasks that an individual aimed to finish, but were left unfinished in an unsatisfactory state when that person stopped working (Syrek et al., 2017).”
BackgroundJunker, N. M., Heimrich, J., Häusser, J. A., & Rigotti, T. (2025) · Work & Stress · doi:10.1080/02678373.2025.2553651 · Cited by 9
“Doing so should help them find closure – resulting in less affective rumination (Syrek et al., 2017) – while also being able to engage in more problem-solving pondering.”
Xu, A. J., Sun, H., & Ma, J. (2026) · Human Resource Management · doi:10.1002/hrm.70050 · Cited by 9
Does looking forward set you back? Development and validation of the work prospection scale
Rutten, R. L. J., Hulsheger, U. R., & Zijlstra, F. (2022) · European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1080/1359432x.2022.2080058 · Cited by 9
“For instance, problem solving pondering was found to be unrelated to long-term detrimental effects such as depressive symptoms (Hamesch et al., 2014) and sleep impairment (Syrek et al., 2017).”
BackgroundUnlimited Paid Time Off Policies: Unlocking the Best and Unleashing the Beast
de Bloom, J., Syrek, C. J., Kühnel, J., & Vahle‐Hinz, T. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.812187 · Cited by 9
Self-citationWork‐related rumination as a mediator between hindrance demands and sleep quality
Janurek, J., Junker, N. M., Hadi, S. A., Mojzisch, A., & Häusser, J. A. (2024) · Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1111/joop.12501 · Cited by 7
Sheng, X., Liu, Z., Zhang, X., Heng, G. U. O., Shu, D. A., & Zhou, S. (2018) · Advances in Psychological Science · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1042.2018.01844 · Cited by 7
Wang, L., & Chen, H. (2024) · Journal of Organizational Change Management · doi:10.1108/jocm-04-2023-0145 · Cited by 6
Diefenbach, S., Ullrich, D., Lindermayer, T., & Isaksen, K.-L. (2024) · Inf. · doi:10.3390/info15080460 · Cited by 7
“To this aim, the present findings could also be interpreted in light of classical findings from working psychology, such as overcoming a challenge and success as a central reason for liking a task [94] or a negative impact of unfinished tasks on flow and wellbeing (e.g., [82,95,96]).”
ResultDoan, V. A., Alexandrovsky, D., van Sintemaartensdijk, I., Gerling, K., & Friehs, M. A. (2025) · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2025.103465 · Cited by 6
“While it is certainly fine to think about and daydream about one ’ s hobby, in extreme cases unfinished tasks may impair sleeping and increase rumination (Syrek et al., 2017).”
Metadata
- Authors
- Syrek, C. J., Weigelt, O., Peifer, C., & Antoni, C. H.
- Affiliations
- Universität Trier (DE)
- FernUniversität in Hagen (DE)
- Ruhr University Bochum (DE)
- Venue
- Journal of Occupational Health Psychology
- Published
- 2017-04
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 225-238
- ISSN
- 1076-8998 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1307
- OpenAlex
- W2338866585
- Cited by
- 187
- References
- 81
- Citations by year
- 2026: 27 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 11
- FWCI
- 18.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Workaholism, burnout, and well-being
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
- Keywords
- unfinished tasks, Zeigarnik effect, affective rumination, problem-solving pondering, sleep disorders, occupational stress, employee recovery, weekend sleep, occupational stressors
- MeSH terms
- Work Performance, Adult, Attitude, Cognition, Female, Germany, Humans, Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders, Male, Middle Aged, Problem Solving, Surveys and Questionnaires, Stress, Psychological, Work, Multilevel Analysis, Young Adult
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