The trajectory of job stress, psychological detachment, and job burnout during the workweek

Abstract

Job burnout is an important topic in academia and practice, and is related to job stress and psychological detachment. On the basis of the effort–reward imbalance model and the job demands–resources model, we proposed that job stress, psychological detachment, and job burnout would each show a growth trajectory during the workweek. Through using an experience sampling method and latent growth modeling, we collected data from 54 Chinese employees via an online survey that participants completed on each day of the working week. Results reveal that during the workweek job stress showed a linear increasing trajectory, psychological detachment showed a U-shaped curve trajectory, and job burnout showed an inverted U-shaped curve trajectory. Our findings provide a reference for managers to put in place interventions to reduce the generation of negative emotions among employees over the workweek.