Thinking About Thinking About Work: A Meta-Analysis of Off-Job Positive and Negative Work-Related Thoughts

Jimenez, WP (通讯作者),Old Dominion Univ, Dept Psychol, Mills Godwin Bldg 250, Norfolk, VA 23529 USA.
2022-4
Work is frequently on the minds of employees-even during evenings, weekends, and vacations. The present study is the first comprehensive meta-analysis of off-job work-related thoughts (WRTs; i.e., thoughts employees have about work when they are not at work). We were particularly interested in comparing off-job positive and negative work-related thoughts (PWRTs and NWRTs; i.e., thoughts about positive/negative work experiences or characteristics) to each other and other off-job WRT constructs, which we integrated into a typology. We coded 520 effect sizes from 171 independent samples (N = 58,682) and conducted a random-effects, individual-correction meta-analysis. We found that PWRTs and NWRTs were unrelated, and psychological detachment was negatively related to NWRTs but unrelated to PWRTs. Furthermore, PWRTs and NWRTs exhibited significantly different relationships with various antecedents (e.g., age, negative affectivity) and outcomes (e.g., work engagement, burnout). Compared to PWRTs and NWRTs, psychological detachment and problem-solving pondering exhibited generally weaker relationships with outcomes. NWRTs contaminated with negative affective strains (i.e., negative work-related thoughts and feelings) exhibited generally stronger relationships with outcomes. Overall, our meta-analytic findings indicate that PWRTs and NWRTs are different and underscore the importance of empirically and conceptually separating PWRTs and NWRTs from each other and other off-job WRT constructs. The findings also complement the nascent literature on interventions that target promoting PWRTs and reducing NWRTs.
JOURNAL OF BUSINESS AND PSYCHOLOGY
卷号:37|期号:2|页码:237-262
ISSN:0889-3268|收录类别:SSCI
语种
英语
来源机构
Old Dominion University; West Virginia University; University of Texas System; University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA)
被引频次(WOS)
13
被引频次(其他)
13
180天使用计数
12
2013以来使用计数
49
EISSN
1573-353X
出版年
2022-4
DOI
10.1007/s10869-021-09742-7
学科领域
循证经济学
关键词
Work-related thoughts Work reflection Work rumination Psychological detachment Problem-solving pondering
WOS学科分类
Business Psychology, Applied