Why Performance Needs an Off Switch

Have you really left work if your mind is still there?

99,329 people were included in a large meta-analysis asking a simple question: what actually helps us recover from work?¹

Two experiences stood out: relaxation and mentally switching off.

Relaxation means reducing the demands placed on you. No task to complete. No problem to solve. No performance required.

Psychological detachment means something different: allowing work to stop continuing in your head after the working day has ended.

Across the research, greater relaxation was associated with better wellbeing and more positive emotions, while greater psychological detachment was associated with less exhaustion and fewer negative emotions.¹

Performance needs an off switch.

Focus is one state. Recovery is another.

At AMATRIUS, UNPLUG ME is the DECELERATOR: a sensory ritual that marks the transition from demand to recovery.

Reference:
1.⁠ ⁠Headrick, L., Newman, D. A., Park, Y. A. & Liang, Y. Recovery Experiences for Work and Health Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis and Recovery-Engagement-Exhaustion Model. Journal of Business and Psychology 38, 821–864 (2023). doi:10.1007/s10869-022-09821-3.