Definition
Psychological detachment is refraining from job-related task thoughts during nonwork time — experienced as switching off, not merely leaving the building.
Origin
Etzion, Eden, and Lapidot (1998) introduced detachment as an individual’s sense of being away from work; Sonnentag and colleagues formalised psychological detachment as a core recovery experience mediating stressor–strain links.
Mechanism
Physical leave without mental leave leaves rumination running — the Effort-Recovery logic that end of hours alone is insufficient when the same capacities stay engaged in worry. Detachment mediates and moderates how workload translates into exhaustion and need for recovery; low detachment after high stressors predicts strain.
Pair with Cognitive Decompression rituals and Allostatic Reset when seasons stack.
Example
You leave the desk at six but replay the same client thread through dinner — body off, mind still on the job. That is B3 miss — physical leave without mental switch-off blocked real recovery.
Applications
One nonwork block this week with a explicit rule: no job-task thoughts — body movement or sensory anchor first when the mind drifts back.
Sources
Cite
- Sonnentag, S., & Fritz, C. (2015). Recovery from job stress: The stressor-detachment model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(S1), S72–S103.
- Sonnentag, S. (2011). Recovery from fatigue: The role of psychological detachment. In P. L. Ackerman (Ed.), Cognitive fatigue (pp. 253–272). American Psychological Association.
Related doctrine
Professionalise Deliberate Recovery