How extended work availability affects well-being: The mediating roles of psychological detachment and work-family-conflict
Abstract
Studies have identified availability for work during non-work time as a widespread demand that is related to impaired well-being. Whereas existing research results are based on cross-sectional designs, the present study applied a three-wave longitudinal design to improve interpretations of the direction and causation of the effects of extended work availability. In addition, this study investigated mediating processes such as the reduction of psychological detachment and the increase in work-to-family conflict (WFC). A total of 416 people responded to an online survey at three measurement points, with a time lag of 2 months between each survey, to assess the organisational expectations of being available during one’s off-job time as well as psychological detachment, WFC and emotional exhaustion. The results of structural equation modelling indicated that extended work availability is associated with increases in emotional exhaustion over time. A mediation analysis revealed that WFC and psychological detachment mediated this effect. The results of this study provide strong evidence that extended work availability negatively affects employee well-being over time. Furthermore, this study contributes to an explanation of the mediating process of the detrimental effect. This finding can be used for health-related interventions in cases where extended work availability cannot be completely avoided.
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Employees in these organisations experienced the ability to psychologically detach from work.
“the employees working in these organisations experienced the ability to psychologically detach from work (Sonnentag, 2012, Dettmers, 2017).”
From The four-day workweek in Australia: insights from early adopters of the 100:80:100 model (2026) · cites this paper as Dettmers, 2017
Long-time work increases employees' fatigue, aggravates negative emotions such as stress and anxiety, and reduces employee well-being.
“Prior studies have shown that long-time work will increase employees’ fatigue and aggravate negative emotions such as stress and anxiety [14,15], and it will also reduce employee well-being [16].”
From Structural Dimension Exploration and Measurement Scale Development of Employee Involution in China’s Workplace Field (2022) · cites this paper as [16]
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References 67 · Cited by 161
- Authors
- Dettmers, J.
- Affiliations
- MSH Medical School Hamburg – University of Applied Sciences and Medical University (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Dettmers, Jan
- ORCID
- Dettmers, Jan
- Venue
- Work & Stress
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2017-01-02
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 24-41
- ISSN
- 0267-8373 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-5335
- OpenAlex
- W2603370098
- Cited by
- 161
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 24.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Work & Stress (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (FK 01FH09083)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Work-Family Balance Challenges
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Workaholism, burnout, and well-being
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Workplace Health and Well-being
- Keywords
- employee well-being, psychological detachment, work-to-family conflict, emotional exhaustion, mediation, longitudinal effects, occupational health interventions
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