Poster presented at Academy of Management Annual Meeting
Copenhagen, Denmark. July 2025.
FACTORS
RELATED TO
PSYCHOLOGICAL
DETACHMENT
FROM HOME AT WORK
What is Psychological Detachment from Home at Work?
- Mentally disengaging from the home domain while at work
- Cognitively, behaviorally, and emotionally disconnecting from home while at work
- Not engaging in or thinking about home-related problems, issues, or opportunities while at work
- “Switching off” home when at work
Current Study: Purpose
This study seeks to explore the role of psychological detachment from home at work on the relationship between home demands and work outcomes, Home-Work Interference and mood at work. I propose that psychological detachment from home at work may prevent the negative effect of home demands from spilling over to the work domain. By analyzing within-person daily fluctuations, this study examined both the antecedents and consequences of psychological detachment from home at work, its role as a mediator, as well as factors that may moderate these relationships.
Nomological Network
Psychological Detachment from home is
Positively related to:
+ Psychological Detachment from Work
+ Work Engagement
Negatively related to:
- Family Involvement
- Clinical Detachment
- Defensive Detachment
Hypotheses
Hypothesis 2: Daily home demands are negatively related to daily psychological detachment from home while at work.
Hypothesis 3: Daily psychological detachment from home is a) negatively related to daily Home-Work Interference (HWI), b) negatively related to daily negative mood at work, and c) positively related to daily positive mood at work.
Hypothesis 4: Daily psychological detachment from home will mediate the relationship between a) daily home demands and HWI, b) daily home demands and negative mood, and c) daily home demands and positive mood at work.
Hypothesis 5: The relationships between psychological detachment and HWI and mood will be moderated by cross-boundary ICT use and boundary segmentation, respectively.
Methods
Using the Experience Sampling Method, 106 full-time employees were surveyed for five consecutive workdays (Monday to Friday). Participants responded three times a day to surveys measuring home demands (morning), psychological detachment from home at work (midday), HWI, and negative and positive mood at work (evening).
Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze day-level data nested within individuals.
Limitations: Job demand variability, sample size, self-report data/common-method bias, signal-contingent ESM, limited prior research
Results
Main Effects of Psychological Detachment from Home at Work
- Home demands make it harder to detach
- Detaching predicts HWI and mood
The Mediating Effect of Psychological Detachment from Home at Work on the Relationship between Home Demands and Employees’ HWI and Mood
- Home demands predict HWI and mood via psychological detachment
No moderation observed
Discussion
- Employees may recover from stressful home demands and replenish depleted resources while at work.
- Those who psychologically detach from home may have a reduction in harmful effects of stress from home demands resulting in positive work outcomes.
- The current study provides additional support for the Effort-Recovery Model and Conservation of Resources Theory, and adds to the nascent research on psychological detachment from home.
Poster
