Why Can’t You Switch Off? What Research Says About Mentally Leaving Work

Short answer. Psychological detachment means mentally stepping away from work in your free time. In a UK study that followed the same people over time, those who detached more at the start said they had lower anxiety and higher life satisfaction a year later (Blake et al., 2025). Heavy workload, worry about missing out, and going over the day again and again all went along with detaching less (Paquette et al., 2025; Sousa & Pires, 2026).

Key facts

• A UK study followed 337 workers (83% women) over time, and 169 of them were checked again later. Better detachment in 2020 was linked to lower anxiety and higher life satisfaction a year later, once age, gender and ethnicity were taken into account (Blake et al., 2025).
• A German study that follows the same people and represents the wider population found that detachment was linked to wellbeing across many indicators. The links were similar across subgroups, before Covid and during it (Baktash & Pütz, 2025).
• In a study of 282 nurses followed for 12 months, heavier workload tended to go with more rumination and less detachment later (Paquette et al., 2025).

A woman asked online: “How do you unwind after a long day of work?”

Psychological detachment, defined

Psychological detachment describes how far you stop thinking about work when you're not working. It's different from being physically away from your desk. You can be on the sofa at 9 p.m. and still be drafting tomorrow’s email in your head. Researchers measure it with short questionnaires that ask how much you stop thinking about work in your free time.

A year later: the UK study

Blake and colleagues followed UK workers from the Wellbeing of the Workforce (WoW) cohort (a group followed over time) during the first Covid lockdown (April to June 2020, 337 people). They checked in again about a year later (169 people). Better detachment at the first check-in predicted better wellbeing, lower anxiety and higher life satisfaction at the second, once age, gender and ethnicity were taken into account. At the first check-in, 21.4% of participants scored low on detachment (one standard deviation or more below the sample average at that point). That cut-off is relative to the sample, so it doesn't estimate how common low detachment is. The paper's figures for the second check-in are inconsistent, so this article doesn't use them (Blake et al., 2025).

A much larger dataset points the same way. Baktash and Pütz (2025) analyzed the German Socio-Economic Panel, a survey that follows the same people over time and reflects the wider population. They reported that detachment was related to wellbeing across a range of indicators. The pattern was similar across subgroups and held both before and during the pandemic.

Workload and rumination

In a study of 282 nurses surveyed twice, higher workload at the first survey predicted more unmet needs, more worry that circles back to work, more problem-solving thoughts about work, and lower detachment 12 months later. Feeling less competent at work helped explain the link between workload and worry (Paquette et al., 2025).

That study separates two kinds of work-related thinking. Affective rumination is worry and distress that circles back to work. Problem-solving pondering is more constructive, but it still keeps work in your head during free time.

Other factors linked to staying mentally at work

The model behind the FoMO result explained roughly a tenth of the differences in detachment between people, so most differences stay unexplained.

Using the findings

The studies describe links and didn't test specific evening routines, so none of these points have been tested as a fix:

• Notice which kind of thinking keeps you at work: worry about how you did, or a to-do list. They may call for different responses, though the studies didn't test this.
• Check whether a workload that stays heavy is part of the problem.
• Pay attention to how much of your evening goes to checking for updates because you're afraid of missing something.

What the research can’t tell us

• The UK study is small, and about half its participants were missing by the second time point. Its low-detachment figures use a cut-off of one standard deviation below the average, which leaves out people with average or slightly low detachment (Blake et al., 2025).
• 83% of that sample were women and 95% were White, so the results can't be read as specific to women or to every group. The study also ran during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, which may limit how far it applies to other times.
• None of these four studies show that women detach worse or benefit more.
• The nurse study covers one profession. The FoMO study is cross-sectional (one point in time), so it can't show which way the link runs.

When should you talk to a professional?

A doctor or therapist is the right person to see if worry about work keeps affecting your sleep or mood, or if anxiety gets in the way of daily life. If you have thoughts of harming yourself, contact local emergency services or a crisis line right away.

Where Soula can fit in

Soula is an app with check-ins, an AI chat, and a content library. It is not a therapist and not a diagnostic tool. You can use its check-ins and chat to talk through the evenings when you stay mentally at work. That may make it easier to see what keeps pulling you back. Its content library is another place to look for ideas on winding down. If patterns like that keep showing up, Soula encourages you to bring them to a doctor or therapist.

FAQ

How do I stop thinking about work in the evening?

No study here tested evening routines. Heavy workload and worry about missing out were linked to staying mentally at work, so those are the first places to look (Paquette et al., 2025; Sousa & Pires, 2026).

Is it bad if I can't switch off?

In a UK study, people who switched off less had more anxiety and lower wellbeing a year later. Other things about those people could account for part of that (Blake et al., 2025).

Is this just me?

The studies can't say how common it is. A German study found that the link between switching off and wellbeing looked similar across the subgroups examined (Baktash & Pütz, 2025).

What does it mean to switch off from work?

Not thinking about work during your time off, even when you're sitting at home. Researchers call it psychological detachment and measure it with short questionnaires.

Does switching off improve mental health?

Better detachment went along with lower anxiety and better wellbeing in the studies above, and the UK group still showed it a year later (Blake et al., 2025). Nobody was assigned to switch off or not, so we can't say that detaching improved their mental health.

Why do I ruminate about work after hours?

Higher workload, feeling less competent, and fear of missing out were each linked to more rumination or lower detachment in different groups of people (Paquette et al., 2025; Sousa & Pires, 2026). The studies don't point to one cause for any individual person.

Is difficulty switching off more common in women?

These four studies don't show it. The German panel compared effects across subgroups (its abstract doesn't name them) and doesn't report who finds it harder to detach (Baktash & Pütz, 2025). The UK sample was 83% women, and gender was only a covariate (a factor the analysis took into account). In the FoMO study, women said they ruminated slightly more, but gender didn't predict detachment (Sousa & Pires, 2026).

References

1. Baktash, M. B., & Pütz, L. (2025). Detach to thrive: Psychological detachment from work and employee well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 26(4), 54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-025-00883-7
2. Blake, H., Hassard, J., Thomson, L., et al. (2025). Psychological detachment from work predicts mental wellbeing of working-age adults: Findings from the Wellbeing of the Workforce (WoW) prospective longitudinal cohort study. PLOS ONE, e0312673. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312673
3. Paquette, V., Trépanier, S.-G., & Ménard, J. (2025). Off-work work-related rumination and psychological detachment: The predictive role of workload and need frustration. Motivation and Emotion, 49(3), 312–326. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-025-10122-4
4. Sousa, C., & Pires, B. (2026). Unable to switch off: Fear of missing out, affective rumination, and psychological detachment from work. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 23(4), 463. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23040463