TY  - JOUR
A1  - Weigelt, Oliver
A1  - Syrek, Christine J.
A1  - Schmitt, Antje
A1  - Urbach, Tina
T1  - Finding peace of mind when there still is so much left undone
BT  - a diary study on how job stress, competence need satisfaction, and proactive work behavior contribute to work-related rumination during the weekend
JF  - Journal of occupational health psychology
N2  - Unfinished work tasks have been identified as a significant job-related stressor in recent occupational stress research. Extending this research, we examine how and when not finishing one’s tasks by the end of the work week affects work-related rumination at the weekend. Drawing on control theory, we examined competence need satisfaction as a mediating mechanism that links unfinished tasks at the end of the work week to work-related rumination at the weekend. Furthermore, we scrutinized whether proactive work behavior within the work week may neutralize the detrimental effects of unfinished tasks on competence need satisfaction and rumination. Using diary methodology, we collected weekly observations from 58 employees at the beginning and at the end of the work week over a period of 12 consecutive weeks, yielding 377 matched observations. Multilevel modeling analyses provided evidence for the assumed indirect effect at the intraindividual level. Higher levels of unfinished tasks were associated with lower levels of competence need satisfaction during the weekend. Competence need satisfaction, in turn, was negatively related to work-related rumination. Proactive work behavior attenuated the detrimental effects of unfinished tasks on competence need satisfaction and rumination at the weekend. These results imply that proactive work behavior facilitates switching off mentally during the weekend as it may restore competence need satisfaction in the face of unfinished tasks.
KW  - unfinished tasks
KW  - competence need satisfaction
KW  - proactive work behavior
KW  - work-related rumination
KW  - diary study
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000117
SN  - 1076-8998
SN  - 1939-1307
VL  - 24
IS  - 3
SP  - 373
EP  - 386
PB  - American Psychological Association
CY  - Washington, DC
ER  -