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Detach to Thrive: Psychological Detachment from Work and Employee Well-Being

Author

Listed:
  • Mehrzad B. Baktash

    (University of Trier)

  • Lisa Pütz

    (RWTH Aachen University)

Abstract

Psychological detachment from work implies mentally disconnecting from work during off-job time. Using representative longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we identify psychological detachment from work as a key driver of employee well-being. This finding holds for a broad set of well-being indicators, including emotional responses, job satisfaction, life domain satisfactions, and global life satisfaction. Importantly, heterogeneity analyses reveal that detachment affects different subgroups of employees to a similar extent, indicating that the impact of detachment on employee well-being is universal. We further find that detachment mattered for employee well-being before as well as during the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, organizations and policy makers could foster psychological detachment to increase employee well-being. Given that employees nowadays search for happiness at work, ensuring psychological detachment becomes also relevant in the war for talent.

Suggested Citation

  • Mehrzad B. Baktash & Lisa Pütz, 2025. "Detach to Thrive: Psychological Detachment from Work and Employee Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 1-31, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:26:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1007_s10902-025-00883-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-025-00883-7
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