Promoting Psychological Detachment and Detachment-Related Self-Efficacy through an Online Training (WITHDRAWN)

Abstract

Psychological detachment is a core predictor for employee health and well-being. However, an increasing number of employees find it hard to detach from work during off-job time. With a sample of administrative workers at two homogenous organizations, we investigate the effects of an online intervention consisting of several short activities related to positive thinking, savoring, relaxation and segmentation strategies on psychological detachment and detachment-related self-efficacy. Using an intervention/control group design, we compare 91 employees in the intervention group with 152 employees in the control group. Analyses reveal no direct intervention effects on psychological detachment or detachment-related self-efficacy. However, in contrast to employees with lower leader-member exchange (LMX), those with higher LMX significantly increased their levels of psychological de-tachment and detachment-related self-efficacy. In addition, participants with a high need for recovery increased their psychological detachment and detachment-related self-efficacy after the intervention. In conclusion, the results reveal that organization- and person-level factors determine the effectiveness of the intervention: employees with a higher LMX and a higher need for recovery benefit most from learning detachment strategies during work.