Abstract
The occupational health literature suggests that perseverative cognitions about work in non-work time are damaging for health and wellbeing; however, there is also research suggesting that some thinking about work outside of work may be adaptive. This thesis addressed a current gap in the literature by assessing the impact of two forms of work-related rumination (affective rumination and problem-solving pondering) on recovery processes. Four studies were carried out. In study 1, a systematic review of the clinical/health literature showed that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)-based and mindfulness-based interventions, delivered in both face-to-face and online formats, may prove effective in the reduction of perseverative cognitions. In study 2, results from a quasi-experimental longitudinal study showed that participants who attended a one-day CBT-based intervention (conducted in the workplace; N=102) reported significantly lower levels of affective rumination, problem-solving pondering and chronic fatigue at follow-up (6 months postintervention) when compared with participants in the control group (N=125). In study 3, results from a randomised waitlist control study showed that participants who completed a 4-week online mindfulness course (N=60) reported lower levels of affective rumination, problem-solving pondering, acute (end-of-day) fatigue and chronic fatigue, and improved sleep quality, when compared with participants in the control group (N=58). In study 4, a longitudinal cross-lagged panel structural equation model was tested, in which questionnaire data was collected from participants (N=218) at two time points - 6 months apart - showed that affective rumination and problem-solving pondering were both implicated in causing chronic fatigue. In summary, the results from this thesis suggest that work-related rumination is detrimental to recovery from work because it appears to cause work-related fatigue. However, further work is warranted to properly conceptualise (and measure) different forms of work-related perseverative thinking. Both types of interventions appear worthy of future empirical work; however, delivering mindfulness online would probably provide the greatest return on investment for organisational occupational health programmes.