Abstract

People who tend to be preoccupied with their work, or have high work centrality, are more likely to experience burnout and mental health problems. The present study investigated whether maintaining habitual routines could alleviate these adverse effects. Using a sample of workers (N = 254), we found that participants with elevated work centrality experienced increased burnout and diminished subjective well-being. However, those who maintained a high level of routines revealed these negative outcomes less, even with pronounced work centrality. Further mediated moderation analysis confirmed that routines neutralized the rise in burnout associated with work centrality, subsequently prevented the decrease of subjective well-being. Our findings have practical implications, suggesting behavioral approaches to preserve mental well-being for those with marked work centrality.