Abstract
Sonnentag defines psychological detachment as refraining from job-related thoughts during nonwork time — a core recovery experience in the stressor-detachment model.
Sonnentag, S. (2011). In P. L. Ackerman (Ed.), Cognitive fatigue (pp. 253–272). American Psychological Association. DOI
Key findings
- Switch-off definition — Detachment means no job-task thoughts — spatial leave alone is insufficient.
- Stressor mediation — Low detachment after high stressors predicts strain — rumination blocks recovery.
- Fatigue pathway — Missing detachment helps explain why off-hours do not restore despite rest.
- Intervention target — Boundary rituals and cognitive decompression can raise detachment when job redesign fails.
Limits
Book chapter review — synthesises correlational field studies; causality often cross-sectional.
Application
After a heavy week, one block with an explicit no work thoughts rule — body first when mind drifts back. See Psychological Detachment · Sonnentag 2015.