Psychological detachment from work predicts mental wellbeing of working-age adults: Findings from the ‘Wellbeing of the Workforce’ (WoW) prospective longitudinal cohort study

Holly Blake, Juliet Hassard, Louise Thomson, Wei Hoong Choo, Teixiera Dulal-Arthur, Maria Karanika-Murray, Lana Delic, Richard Pickford and Lou Rudkin

PLOS ONE, 2025, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-24

Abstract: Background: There is an urgent need to better understand the factors that predict mental wellbeing in vocationally active adults during globally turbulent times. Aim: To explore the relationship between psychological detachment from work (postulated as a key recovery activity from work) in the first national COVID-19 lockdown with health, wellbeing, and life satisfaction of working age-adults one year later, within the context of a global pandemic. Methods: Wellbeing of the Workforce (WoW) was a prospective longitudinal cohort study, with two waves of data collection (Time 1, April-June 2020: T1 n = 337; Time 2, March-April 2021: T2 = 169) corresponding with the first and third national COVID-19 lockdowns in the UK. Participants were >18 years, who were employed or self-employed and working in the UK. Descriptive and parametric (t-tests and linear regression) and nonparametric (chi square tests) inferential statistics were employed. Results: Risk for major depression (T1: 20.0% to T2: 29.0%, p = .002), poor general health (T1: 4.7% to T2: 0%, p = .002) and poor life satisfaction (T1: 15.4% to T2: 25.4%, p = .002) worsened over time, moderate-to-severe anxiety remained stable (T1: 26.1% to T2: 30.2%, p = .15). Low psychological detachment from work was more prevalent in the first wave (T1: 21.4% and T2: 16.0%), with a moderate improvement observed from T1 to T2 (t (129) = -7.09, p

Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0312673

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312673

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