Testing cross-lagged relationships between work-related rumination and well-being at work in a three-wave longitudinal study across 1 and 2 years

摘要

The aim of this three-wave longitudinal study conducted among 664 Finnish employees was to examine the cross-lagged relationships between various work-related ruminative thoughts (affective rumination, problem-solving pondering, lack of detachment from work) during off-job time and employee well-being (exhaustion, vigour). We tested normal, reversed, and reciprocal temporal relationships across 1 and 2 years using structural equation modelling. The analyses lent most support to the reversed temporal relationships, showing first that high exhaustion predicted low problem-solving pondering 2 years later and second, that high vigour predicted low affective rumination both 1 and 2 years later. In addition, a normal temporal relationship was supported in one model, indicating that high affective rumination predicted high exhaustion 1 year later. Thus, our study suggests that affective ruminative thoughts, in particular, play a negative role in cross-lagged relationships. On the basis of our results, occupational health interventions intended to reduce both affective work-related rumination and exhaustion and to increase vigour at work are desirable. Practitioner points