Work-Related Prospection to Code Switch Between Work and Home Life

...people who engage in “work-related prospection”– that is, thinking and planning about the day and week ahead and the steps you need to take to achieve your career goals – tend to weather the stresses of the journey better than people whose minds wander aimlessly. This translated to greater job satisfaction throughout the day.

Jachimowicz suspects that these benefits come from the fact that it eases the conflict we feel between our roles at home and our roles at work. After all, your behaviour at home – as a flatmate, spouse or parent – will be very different from the ways you are expected to act at work. And some people don’t switch between the roles very naturally, creating a sense of conflict that can compound work-related stress.

“When we’re stuck in between these two roles – this thing that researchers call ‘role ambiguity’ – we feel conflict, and that leads to a lot of negative outcomes,” Jachimowicz says – such as feelings of exhaustion and burnout.

A few moments thinking about the day in front of you can therefore ease the change of gears, reducing the stress once you arrive in the office, he says. “The time period between leaving home and arriving at work is really a wonderful opportunity that people could use to transition between the two roles.”