Mental Recovery from Work: Learning to Switch Off

(in German)

A great variety of issues can make full mental recovery from work difficult or even impossible. Constant availability can blur the boundary between work and private life. Unfinished tasks or unresolved conflicts can also continue to preoccupy you after the end of the working day and make it more difficult to relax during your time off.

Difficulties falling asleep are a possible consequence of failing to switch off sufficiently after work as well. Taking short-term countermeasures, such as working on assignments during your leisure time, merely shortens rest periods and hinders necessary recovery processes. Serious mental and physical complaints can occur as a result.

To remain healthy and employable over the long term, it is therefore important to learn mental recovery strategies early on and regularly integrate them into the daily working life.

This guidance document provides support in learning mental recovery strategies and is aimed equally at managers, personnel management specialists, and employees. It includes explanations of fundamental theoretical concepts and underlying mechanisms and is complemented with recommendations drawn from work recovery research. Sample exercises offer you opportunities to practise what you have learned.

Please download the complete brochure "Mental Recovery from Work: Learning to Switch Off" (in German only).

Bibliographic information

Title:  Mentale Erholung von der Arbeit: Abschalten lernen

Written by:  J. Wendsche, L. Tschetsche, A. Lohmann-Haislah, A. Schulz, K. Schuller, I. Schöllgen

1. edition.  Dortmund:  Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin, 2023. 
ISBN: 978-3-88261-758-0, pages: 44, paper, PDF file, DOI: 10.21934/baua:praxis20230808

Further Information