Overwhelmed, underchallenged, and distracted at work: associations with psychosocial outcomes
Issued Date
2026-01-01
Resource Type
ISSN
21981833
eISSN
16132238
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-105029495249
Journal Title
Journal of Public Health Germany
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Journal of Public Health Germany (2026)
Suggested Citation
Hajek A., Pengpid S., Peltzer K., König H.H. Overwhelmed, underchallenged, and distracted at work: associations with psychosocial outcomes. Journal of Public Health Germany (2026). doi:10.1007/s10389-026-02677-4 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/115017
Title
Overwhelmed, underchallenged, and distracted at work: associations with psychosocial outcomes
Author(s)
Corresponding Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
Aim: We aimed to investigate the association of distractions at work and perceived occupational challenges with psychosocial outcomes among the adult German population. Subject and methods: A quota-based online sample of the German adult population (representative in terms of gender, age group, and federal state) was used. We restricted our sample to the working population aged 18 to 64 years (n = 2274 individuals). The mean age was 41.7 years (SD 12.7 years). Widely used and psychometrically sound tools were used to quantify the psychosocial outcomes. Multiple linear regressions were estimated. Results: Overall, 19.5% felt somewhat underchallenged and 8.0% felt somewhat overwhelmed (the rest felt challenged just right) in their job. In the preceding 4 weeks, 15.1% of the respondents had never engaged in activities that did not directly contribute to their professional duties (rarely, 29.2%; sometimes, 37.4%; often, 13.6%; very often, 4.7%). Adjusting for covariates, regressions showed that a higher frequency of distractions at work (in particular often or very often compared to never) was consistently associated with poorer psychosocial outcomes, except for life satisfaction and ikigai. Additionally, being somewhat underchallenged (compared to challenged just right) was mostly unrelated to the psychosocial outcomes. In contrast, being somewhat overwhelmed was consistently associated with poorer psychosocial outcomes. Conclusion: Frequent distractions at work and feeling overwhelmed in particular are associated with poor psychosocial outcomes. This study advances our current knowledge of the link between distractions at work and excessive demands and their psychosocial outcomes. We recommend cross-country comparisons and longitudinal studies.