The role of psychological detachment and occupational self-efficacy in the relationship between illegitimate tasks and emotional well-being: a longitudinal moderated mediation model

The role of psychological detachment and occupational self-efficacy in the relationship between illegitimate tasks and emotional well-being: a longitudinal moderated mediation model | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The role of psychological detachment and occupational self-efficacy in the relationship between illegitimate tasks and emotional well-being: a longitudinal moderated mediation model Tingting Jin, Yaoying Zhou, Leigang Zhang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7613567/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Illegitimate tasks, as a workplace stressor, have been associated with a range of detrimental effects on employee well-being. However, the potential underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions linking illegitimate tasks to work-relevant negative psychological states remain insufficiently explored in current literature. As such, this study aimed to investigate the mediating role of psychological detachment in the relationship between illegitimate tasks and two negative affects (anger and depressive mood), while also examining occupational self-efficacy as a potential moderator of these relationships. Methods This study adopted a three-wave longitudinal design, involving a sample of 650 registered nurses from healthcare institutions across China. At Time 1, a total of 650 participants provided demographic information and reported their levels of perceived illegitimate tasks. Four weeks later (Time 2), participants (N = 592) completed measures assessing occupational self-efficacy and psychological detachment. At Time 3, conducted four weeks after Time 2, participants (N = 535) provided self-reported data on anger and depressive symptoms. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analysis, incorporating a bootstrapping procedure, were employed to examine the hypothesized model. Results Illegitimate tasks positively predicted anger ( β = 0.290, p < 0.01) and depressive mood ( β = 0.397, p < 0.01), but negatively predicted psychological detachment ( β = -0.254, p < 0.01). Psychological detachment partially mediated the effects of illegitimate tasks on both anger (indirect effect = 0.050, 95% CI [0.031, 0.076]) and depressive mood (indirect effect = 0.035, 95% CI [0.017, 0.062]). Moreover, moderated mediation analyses revealed that the negative effect of illegitimate tasks on psychological detachment, along with their indirect effects on anger (index of moderated mediation = 0.033, 95% CI [-0.067, -0.005]) and depressive mood (index of moderated mediation = -0.017, 95% CI [-0.039, -0.002]) through psychological detachment, were significantly more pronounced among nurses with low occupational self-efficacy compared to those with moderate or high levels. Conclusion This study elucidates a mediated pathway in which illegitimate tasks diminish nurse well-being via impairments in psychological detachment. Crucially, our results reveal occupational self-efficacy as a moderator that attenuates this negative relationship. These insights provide a clear theoretical rationale for healthcare organizations to invest in strategies that enhance nurses’ occupational self-efficacy, thereby mitigating the detrimental impact of unavoidable illegitimate tasks. Illegitimate tasks Psychological detachment Emotional well-being Occupational self-efficacy Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Background Workplace stressors have been consistently associated with detrimental physical and psychological health outcomes [ 1 ]. Given nurses’ frequent exposure to intense physical, cognitive, and emotional demands, it is essential to investigate how work-related stressors affect their emotional well-being and to identify effective mitigating mechanisms. Among these, illegitimate tasks [ 2 , 3 ], a relatively recent focus in occupational health research, constitute a particularly salient and understudied stressor. These tasks are defined as assignments perceived by employees to fall outside their expected responsibilities, resulting in the belief that they “should not have to perform” them [ 4 , 5 ]. Illegitimate tasks can occur multiple times within a single workday, with studies reporting average frequencies ranging from 2 to 3 such tasks per week [ 6 ]. Furthermore, an interview-based study revealed that approximately 10% of primary tasks and nearly 65% of secondary tasks were perceived as illegitimate by employees [ 7 ]. Although employees generally seek to avoid such tasks, illegitimate assignments are becoming increasingly common in contemporary organizations, often as a result of unclear job responsibilities and poorly defined role boundaries within bureaucratic systems. Although occupational stress research has historically overlooked task-specific stressors of this kind, we argue that illegitimate tasks represent a distinct source of strain, capable of accounting for unique variance in employee outcomes above and beyond conventional stressors. As potent psychosocial stressors, illegitimate tasks elicit adverse consequences across multiple domains: emotional (e.g., anger, frustration), cognitive (e.g., impaired concentration), and behavioral (e.g., counterproductive work behaviors) [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Despite the accumulated findings of prior studies, the existing literature on illegitimate tasks is characterized by several important limitations that merit careful consideration. First, empirical investigations within medical and healthcare contexts remain strikingly scarce, representing a significant gap in the occupational stress literature. Second, potential individual differences in responses to illegitimate tasks are underexplored, leaving key moderators of the stress process unidentified. Third, and most critically, the field has predominantly relied on cross-sectional designs, while longitudinal evidence establishing causality and elucidating long-term mechanistic pathways remains notably absent. Fourth, while cultural characteristics such as collectivism and high power distance can influence the perception and interpretation of illegitimate tasks, our current understanding remains limited due to the predominant focus of existing research on Western individualistic contexts. Thus, the purpose of this research is to propose and examine a conceptual model in which illegitimate tasks are associated with anger and depressive mood through the mediating role of psychological detachment, with occupational self-efficacy moderating this pathway. Specifically, we hypothesize that psychological detachment mediates the effect of illegitimate tasks on anger and depressive mood among nurses in China. We further hypothesize that occupational self-efficacy moderates the relationship between illegitimate tasks and psychological detachment. Finally, we advance a moderated mediation model that the strength of the mediation effect via psychological detachment depends on the level of occupational self-efficacy. Our conceptual model is depicted in Fig. 1 . Theoretical background The effect of illegitimate tasks on anger and depressive mood Although the concept of illegitimate tasks remains relatively novel in organizational research, existing studies indicate that task illegitimacy is associated with a wide range of negative consequences for employees’ work well-being. Exploring the concept of illegitimate tasks provides important insights into how task characteristics and assignments can shape employees’ psychological health and functional effectiveness in the workplace. Illegitimate tasks encompass work responsibilities that may be perceived as exceeding reasonable expectations for an employee’s role [ 2 ]. An illustrative example in clinical nursing would be requiring a nurse to change a patient’s bedpan, a task that typically falls under the responsibilities of a nursing assistant or caregiver, rather than within the scope of professional nursing practice. Illegitimate tasks are often classified into two categories: unreasonable tasks, which are perceived as belonging to another person's role, and unnecessary tasks, which are seen as futile and lacking any legitimate objective [ 4 ]. The commonality between unreasonable and unnecessary tasks lies in the employee’s perception of their illegitimacy, that is, the belief that such tasks fall outside the scope of their expected responsibilities and therefore should not be required to perform them. Illegitimate tasks contribute to an increased workload and pose a threat to workers’ confidence. Since illegitimate tasks require employees to engage in actions that lie beyond their reasonable or appropriate expectations, carrying out such tasks can erode both their professional identity and their sense of respect within the workplace. Exposure to work situations that convey disrespect or imply inadequacy may also threaten employees’ self-worth and undermine their psychological well-being. As a result, researchers have recognized illegitimate tasks as a significant source of psychological stress in occupational settings. Research consistently indicates that illegitimate tasks can be associated with various negative outcomes. For example, illegitimate tasks can provoke persistent resentment and frustration [ 4 ]. Empirical studies have shown a positive association between exposure to such tasks and elevated levels of anger, depressive mood, and reduced job satisfaction [ 11 ]. Moreover, exposure to illegitimate tasks during the workday predicts decreased self-esteem and increased negative affect by the end of the day [ 8 ]. Stress reactions are typically characterized by the presence of negative affect, and as a result, many studies employ measures of negative affect as indicators to assess stress [ 12 ]. Our focus is on two significant negative emotions: anger and depressive mood. Among the negative emotions related to the perceived unfairness of illegitimate tasks, anger emerges as a particularly salient and immediate response. It is characterized by feelings of displeasure and opposition, often arising from perceptions of unjust treatment [ 13 ]. Research in organizational justice and interpersonal mistreatment indicates that employees experience heightened negative affect when subjected to unfair or disrespectful treatment. As illegitimate tasks violate norms of fairness and professional appropriateness, it is reasonable to anticipate that they may provoke these negative emotional reactions. Consequently, we hypothesize that the ongoing exposure to illegitimate tasks is likely to elicit feelings of anger. Moreover, the impact of illegitimate tasks extends beyond their practical implications to encompass their social significance. In environments characterized by interpersonal tension, employees may interpret illegitimate tasks as indicators of disrespect or unintended malevolence, which could further exacerbate the stress response. Indeed, perceived violations of one’s professional identity can be associated with feelings of disrespect and are closely linked to perceptions of unfairness. Feelings of sadness are fundamental emotional responses to negative social encounters, particularly those involving devaluation, exclusion, or threats to one’s professional identity. By conveying implicit messages of disregard and marginalization, illegitimate tasks can potentially undermine an employee’s sense of belonging and professional worth [ 14 ]. Furthermore, carrying out illegitimate tasks can threaten an individual’s positive self-regard and is therefore psychologically resource-depleting [ 15 ]. Therefore, illegitimate tasks have been identified as emotionally draining [ 16 ]. Over time, continuous exposure to these tasks may also contribute to a depressive mood. In light of this theoretical framework and supported by existing empirical evidence, we hypothesize that there is a positive association between illegitimate tasks and both anger and depressive mood. Hypothesis a: Illegitimate tasks are positively associated with anger. Hypothesis b: Illegitimate tasks are positively associated with depressive mood. Psychological detachment as a mediator Building upon the stressor-detachment model, psychological detachment serves as a critical mediating mechanism that explains how job stressors lead to employee strain [ 17 ]. Psychological detachment is defined as a sense of being away from the work situation characterized by both cognitive disengagement and affective distancing from work demands during off-hours [ 18 ]. Psychological detachment facilitates effective recovery by creating cognitive-affective boundaries that prevent work demands from depleting personal resources during non-work time. Successful detachment allows employees to replenish diminished psychological resources, thereby reducing adverse outcomes. In contrast, failure to detach can result in ongoing resource loss, contributing to psychological strain and physiological dysregulation. Job stressors such as workload, role ambiguity, and role conflict often undermine psychological detachment by sustaining negative affective activation and promoting work-related rumination, which prolongs cognitive engagement with job demands after work and inhibits recovery [ 19 , 20 ]. Indeed, illegitimate tasks, even when framed as part of an excessive workload, can be viewed as a manifestation of role ambiguity. By blurring the boundaries of professional responsibilities and creating uncertainty about the scope of one’s duties, they undermine role clarity. Ambiguous role definitions can lead to persistent cognitive preoccupation with work, thereby impairing psychological detachment [ 21 ]. In line with this mechanism, empirical studies confirm that illegitimate tasks, as potent workplace stressors, predict impaired psychological detachment [ 22 , 23 ]. These tasks consume considerable time and energy during work hours, often compelling employees to extend work into personal time to complete core duties. This blurring of work-life boundaries impedes mental disengagement from work. For instance, daily diary studies show that exposure to illegitimate tasks predicts increased negative affect and reduced self-esteem at the end of the workday, which in turn leads to lower psychological detachment in the evening [ 22 ]. Furthermore, illegitimate tasks correlate with reduced detachment and increased work-to-family conflict, with detachment mediating the relationship between such tasks and both time-based and strain-based conflict [ 23 ]. Since illegitimate tasks encroach upon employees’ personal time and energy, and inhibit recovery, they are likely to elicit anger, often stemming from threats to self-esteem and professional identity, as well as contribute to depressive mood through sustained strain and insufficient recovery. Previous research has demonstrated that psychological detachment mediates the link between job stressors, such as workload, and emotional outcomes like exhaustion [ 24 ]. Drawing on these established relationships and empirical support for the mediating role of psychological detachment between stressors and well-being, we hypothesize that psychological detachment mediates the relationships between illegitimate tasks and both anger and depressive mood. Hypothesis a: Psychological detachment mediates the positive relationship between illegitimate tasks and anger. Hypothesis b: Psychological detachment mediates the positive relationship between illegitimate tasks and depressive mood. A moderated mediation model: occupational self-efficacy as a moderator While previous research has largely emphasized that illegitimate tasks increase the risk of negative outcomes, some evidence suggests that under specific conditions, they may also elicit a slight positive effect. One theoretical explanation for this phenomenon lies in Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping, which proposes that when confronted with a demand, individuals engage in a two-stage cognitive appraisal process [ 25 ]. In the primary appraisal stage, they assess the situation through three dimensions: harm/loss (damage already occurred), threat (anticipation of future harm), and challenge (potential for growth or gain). This appraisal strongly influences whether the individual’s response will lead to adaptive or maladaptive outcomes. Subsequently, during the secondary appraisal stage, individuals evaluate whether they have sufficient resources and capabilities to cope with the perceived threat. A number of occupational stress studies have incorporated the construct of job-related self-efficacy, defined as employees' belief in their capability to perform job tasks effectively, and have demonstrated significant associations with both psychological distress and well-being. In this study, occupational self-efficacy is examined as a moderating variable influencing the relationship between illegitimate tasks and emotional responses. Defined as an individual's belief in their ability to successfully perform tasks and cope with role-specific demands within their professional domain [ 26 ], occupational self-efficacy is positively associated with work engagement, job satisfaction, and overall occupational well-being [ 27 ]. Furthermore, as an important psychological resource, it fosters a sense of personal mastery and control in professional environments, thereby helping mitigate the negative impact of work stressors on both performance and psychological health. For instance, employees with high occupational self-efficacy, even those dissatisfied with their career progress, tend to demonstrate greater perseverance and exert more effort toward achieving professional goals [ 28 ]. Drawing on Lazarus's transactional theory of stress and coping, occupational self-efficacy is considered to serve as a protective factor that enhances an individual’s perceived coping capacity, leading to more adaptive appraisals of illegitimate tasks and a reduction in negative affect. This protective function is underpinned by two mechanisms: it fosters the cognitive reappraisal of stressors into manageable challenges and cultivates the psychological resources essential for effective coping. Since the perception of a task as illegitimate arises primarily from subjective appraisal rather than objective characteristics, employees with high occupational self-efficacy are more likely to interpret such tasks as external and temporary obstacles rather than as threats to their self-worth or professional identity. Moreover, confident in their abilities, they often adopt proactive strategies such as communicating with supervisors, reorganizing workflows, or efficiently managing tasks to minimize disruption [ 29 ]. This constructive approach helps reduce anger and depressive symptoms associated with illegitimate tasks. Hypothesis a: Occupational self-efficacy moderates the positive relationship between illegitimate tasks and anger, such that this relationship is weaker for individuals with high occupational self-efficacy. Hypothesis b: Occupational self-efficacy moderates the positive relationship between illegitimate tasks and depressive mood, such that this relationship is weaker for individuals with high occupational self-efficacy. Within the stressor-detachment framework, Sonnentag and Fritz propose that individual characteristics, such as self-esteem and optimism, may function as protective buffers that help mitigate the adverse effects of job stressors on psychological detachment [ 17 ]. Given the similarities between occupational self-efficacy and these characteristics, it is reasonable to suggest that occupational self-efficacy might also alleviate the negative impact of illegitimate tasks on psychological detachment. Employees with higher levels of occupational self-efficacy are generally more adept at drawing and maintaining clear boundaries between their professional and personal lives compared to those with lower self-efficacy [ 29 ]. Their confidence in their overall abilities enables them to delineate their work and personal roles more effectively. Consequently, after work, they can affirm to themselves, “My tasks are complete; now it is time to focus on my personal life”, thereby fostering psychological detachment. Conversely, individuals with lower occupational self-efficacy may find themselves engaging in persistent rumination about work-related issues. Their struggles to resolve these issues can lead to negative emotions and frustrations that extend into their personal time. As a result, they may often revisit distressing events from their day, repeatedly questioning, “Why did this happen to me?” or ”What should I do?”. This pattern can hinder their ability to disengage cognitively from work, maintaining a state of mental preoccupation. In light of this reasoning, we propose that higher levels of occupational self-efficacy may serve to dampen the negative effect of illegitimate tasks on psychological detachment. Hypothesis 4 Occupational self-efficacy moderates the negative relationship between illegitimate tasks and psychological detachment, such that this relationship is weaker among individuals with high occupational self-efficacy. The present study proposes that occupational self-efficacy moderates the mediating effect of psychological detachment on the relationship between illegitimate tasks and anger and depressive mood. Specifically, for employees with high occupational self-efficacy, the indirect effect of illegitimate tasks on anger and depression through reduced psychological detachment is expected to be weaker. These individuals tend to attribute such tasks to external or situational factors—such as ambiguous role expectations or temporary organizational requirements—rather than to their own competence. This adaptive appraisal acts as a psychological buffer, helping them maintain higher levels of psychological detachment after work. As a result, they experience less lingering negative emotion, which attenuates feelings of anger and depression. Conversely, employees with low occupational self-efficacy are more prone to internalizing illegitimate tasks, viewing them as evidence of personal failure or inadequacy. This negative appraisal heightens the perceived threat of the situation and further impedes psychological detachment. They are more likely to engage in persistent rumination and struggle to mentally disengage from work-related thoughts. Consequently, the mediated pathway via impaired detachment is strengthened, leading to more severe anger and depressive symptoms. Hypothesis a: The indirect effect of illegitimate tasks on anger via psychological detachment will be weaker for individuals with high occupational self-efficacy. Hypothesis b: The indirect effect of illegitimate tasks on depressive mood via psychological detachment will be weaker for individuals with high occupational self-efficacy. Method Sample and procedure Employing a longitudinal design, this study was conducted in Eastern China between July and September 2023 using self-report questionnaires. After obtaining approval from the institutional ethics committee, participants were voluntarily recruited from eight general hospitals. Upon reviewing informed consent materials, which outlined the research objectives and participation requirements, participants were provided access to the survey via SoJump links distributed through WeChat. Data collection involved three waves of online surveys administered at four-week intervals. This interval was chosen based on existing literature indicating optimal time lags for assessing stress-related constructs. Longitudinal studies examining the effects of psychological detachment on strain often utilize intervals ranging from two to five weeks [ 30 ], supporting the appropriateness of the multi-wave design for capturing such dynamic processes. Furthermore, prior research on the relationship between illegitimate tasks and strain has commonly employed lags of four to six weeks when collecting multi-wave data [ 6 , 31 ]. Demographic information and measures of illegitimate tasks were assessed at T1. Occupational self-efficacy and psychological disengagement were measured at T2, followed by assessments of anger and depression at T3. At each scheduled time point, automated reminders were sent via WeChat to prompt participants to complete the subsequent survey wave. Of the 650 employees who initially agreed to participate and completed the T1 survey, 592 (91.08%) completed T2, and 535 (82.31%) completed all three waves. To assess potential attrition bias, we compared participants who completed all three questionnaires with those who dropped out after T1 or T2 (combined into a single attrition group). No significant differences were observed in demographic characteristics or any study variables, indicating that the data were missing completely at random. The final analytic sample was 88.79% female, with a mean age of 36.59 years (SD = 6.65). The majority (82.62%) were cohabiting with a partner, and 82.06% had children. On average, participants had a job tenure of 13.27 years (SD = 7.37) and worked 44.09 hours per week (SD = 1.83). Measures Demographic variables Previous research has established that some demographic variables, including age, gender, education, work experience, job title, marital status, and number of children, must be controlled for since they may influence individuals’ responses to workplace stressors. Illegitimate tasks Illegitimate tasks were assessed using the 8-item scale developed by Semmer et al., which measures the extent to which employees perceive tasks as unreasonable or inconsistent with their professional role [ 9 ]. Sample items include: “Today, did you have work tasks to take care of, which you believe should be done by someone else?” and “Today, did you have work tasks to take care of, which kept you wondering if they make sense at all?”. Responses were recorded on a 5-point frequency scale ranging from 1 (Never) to 5 (Frequently). The scale demonstrated good internal consistency in this study, with a Cronbach’s α of 0.85. Occupational self-efficacy Occupational self-efficacy was measured using the eight-item scale by Rigotti et al [ 26 ]. A sample item is: “I met the goals that I set for myself in my job.” Responses were provided on a 5-point Likert-type scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The scale showed acceptable internal consistency in this study, with a Cronbach’s α of 0.73. Psychological detachment Psychological detachment was evaluated with four items adapted from Sonnentag and Fritz [ 9 ]. An example item is: “During the time after work, I forget about work.” Participants rated their agreement on a 5-point frequency scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always). The Cronbach’s α of this scale in the current study was 0.63. Anger and depressive mood Anger was assessed using three items from the Strain Symptom Inventory [ 32 ]. Sample items include: “To what extent do you feel angry when exposed to illegitimate tasks?” and “To what extent do you feel aggravated when exposed to illegitimate tasks?”. Items were rated on a 5-point scale from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much). The Cronbach’s α of this scale in the current study was 0.66. Depressive mood was measured with a 13-item short form of the Beck Depression Inventory, which evaluates the severity of depressive symptoms over the previous two weeks [ 33 ]. Example items include: “I am not pessimistic or disappointed about my future” and “I don’t feel depressed.” Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much). Cronbach’s a in this study was 0.73. Ethical considerations Ethical approval for the study was granted by the Institutional Review Board of Shaoxing University. Authorization for data collection was obtained from all participating hospitals. Before administering the survey, participants received an introductory letter that explained the study's purpose and procedures. Written informed consent was obtained at the beginning of the study. Participants were assured of the confidentiality and anonymity of their responses, as well as their right to withdraw from the study at any time without providing a reason. Analytic procedure The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0 and Mplus version 8.0. Before testing the hypotheses, a series of preliminary analyses was conducted. Descriptive statistics, including means and standard deviations, were calculated, along with reliability coefficients (Cronbach's α) and correlations among the variables. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was then performed to assess the discriminant validity of all variables. To test the moderated mediation hypotheses, a path analysis framework was adopted. First, mediation effects were examined using bias-corrected bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples in Mplus. Next, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted with the PROCESS macro (Model 1) to explore the moderating effect of occupational self-efficacy. When a significant interaction was detected, simple slope analyses were performed to interpret the moderation pattern. High, medium, and low levels of the moderator were defined as one standard deviation above the mean, at the mean, and one standard deviation below the mean, respectively. Finally, conditional indirect effects were examined using the PROCESS macro (Model 7) to evaluate how these effects varied across different levels of the moderator. Results Measurement model Prior to hypothesis testing, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to assess discriminant validity among the key constructs. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the five-factor model, which included illegitimate tasks, occupational self-efficacy, psychological detachment, anger, and depressive mood. The model demonstrated an acceptable fit to the data (χ²/df = 2.31, CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.91, SRMR = 0.05, and RMSEA = 0.05). For comparison, alternative measurement models (i.e., one-, two-, three-, and four-factor models) were also tested by loading the observed variables accordingly. The chi-square difference tests indicated that these alternative models had a significantly worse fit than the five-factor model (see Table 1 ). These results offer empirical evidence supporting the discriminant validity of the examined constructs. Table 1 Comparison of measurement model fit indices Measurement models χ²/df CFI TLI SRMR RMSEA 1.One-factor model 13.01 0.46 0.44 0.16 0.18 2.Two-factor model (illegitimate tasks + occupational self-efficacy + psychological detachment, anger + depressive mood) 10.73 0.56 0.53 0.12 0.13 3.Three-factor model (illegitimate tasks + occupational self-efficacy + psychological detachment, anger, depressive mood) 8.85 0.58 0.55 0.10 0.11 4.Four-factor model (illegitimate tasks + occupational self-efficacy, psychological detachment, anger, depressive mood) 4.23 0.72 0.69 0.09 0.10 5.Five-factor model 2.31 0.93 0.91 0.05 0.05 Descriptive statistics Table 2 presents the descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations among the variables. Illegitimate tasks were negatively related to occupational self-efficacy ( r = -0.226, p < 0.01) and psychological detachment ( r = -0.254, p < 0.01), but positively related to anger ( r = 0.340, p < 0.01) and depressive mood ( r = 0.433, p < 0.01). Occupational self-efficacy was positively related to psychological detachment ( r = 0.240, p < 0.01), and negatively related to anger ( r = -0.300, p < 0.01) and depressive mood ( r = -0.289, p < 0.01). Finally, psychological detachment was negatively related to anger ( r = -0.271, p < 0.01) and depressive mood ( r = -0.241, p < 0.01). Table 2 Means, standard deviations, and correlations among the variables Variables M ± SD 1 2 3 4 5 1. Illegitimate tasks 3.02 ± 0.69 - 2. Occupational self-efficacy 3.23 ± 0.50 −0.226 ** - 3. Psychological detachment 3.35 ± 0.47 −0.254 ** 0.240 ** - 4. Anger 3.14 ± 0.60 0.340 ** −0.300 ** −0.271 ** - 5. Depressive mood 2.95 ± 0.43 0.433 ** −0.289 ** −0.241 ** 0.404 ** - Hypothesis testing Direct and mediating effects Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed using Mplus version 8.0 with maximum likelihood estimation to examine the hypothesized relationships among the constructs. To examine the indirect effects, bias-corrected bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples was employed to estimate 95% confidence intervals. The 95% confidence interval includes zero, indicating that the mediating effect is not statistically significant. The model demonstrated good fit to the data (χ 2 /df = 1.74, CFI = 0.98, TLI = 0.92, RMSEA = 0.06, SRMR = 0.05). As shown by the standardized path coefficients (Fig. 2 ), illegitimate tasks positively predicted both anger ( β = 0.290, 95% CI [0.225, 0.356]) and depressive mood ( β = 0.397, 95% CI [0.331, 0.458]), thus providing support for Hypotheses 1a and 1b. Illegitimate tasks also negatively predicted psychological detachment ( β = -0.254, 95% CI [-0.324, -0.183]). In turn, psychological detachment negatively predicted both anger ( β = -0.198, 95% CI [-0.261, -0.138]) and depressive mood ( β = -0.141, 95% CI [-0.211, -0.067]). As shown in Table 3 , the indirect effect of illegitimate tasks on anger through psychological detachment was significant ( β = 0.050, 95% CI [0.031, 0.076]), supporting Hypothesis 2a. Similarly, the indirect effect on depressive mood was also significant ( β = 0.035, 95% CI [0.017, 0.062]), supporting Hypothesis 2b. Taken together, these results indicate that psychological detachment partially mediates the relationship between illegitimate tasks and both anger and depressive mood. Table 3 Direct and indirect effects on anger and depressive mood Path Direct Effect (SE) 95% CI Indirect Effect (SE) 95% CI Illegitimate tasks → Anger 0.290 ** (0.040) [0.225, 0.356] Illegitimate tasks → Depressive mood 0.397 ** (0.038) [0.331, 0.458] Illegitimate tasks → Psychological detachment −0.254 ** (0.043) [−0.324,−0.183] Psychological detachment → Anger −0.198 ** (0.037) [−0.261,−0.138] Psychological detachment → Depressive mood −0.141 ** (0.045) [−0.211,−0.067] Illegitimate tasks → Psychological detachment → Anger 0.050 ** (0.013) [0.031, 0.076] Illegitimate tasks → Psychological detachment → Depressive mood 0.035 ** (0.013) [0.017, 0.062] Moderation effects A series of hierarchical moderated regression analyses was conducted separately using the PROCESS macro (Model 1) to examine the moderating role of occupational self-efficacy in the relationships between illegitimate tasks and three outcome variables: psychological detachment, anger, and depressive mood. To reduce the risk of multicollinearity, all variables were centered at their means. As shown in Table 4 , illegitimate tasks significantly negatively predicted psychological detachment ( β = -0.193, t = -4.507 ** ), and positively predicted anger ( β = 0.280, t = 6.745 ** ) and depressive mood ( β = 0.367, t = 9.128 ** ). Occupational self-efficacy positively predicted psychological detachment ( β = 0.170, t = 4.000 ** ), and negatively predicted anger ( β = -0.215, t = -5.233 ** ) and depressive mood ( β = -0.186, t = -4.672 ** ). Furthermore, the interaction between illegitimate tasks and occupational self-efficacy was significant in predicting psychological detachment ( β = 0.104, t = 2.440 * ), anger ( β = -0.097, t = -2.361 * ), and depressive mood ( β = -0.098, t = 2.464 * ). Therefore, Hypotheses 3a, 3b, and 4 were supported. To further examine the significant interaction effects, simple slope analyses were conducted. As illustrated in Fig. 3 , the effect of illegitimate tasks on psychological detachment increased as occupational self-efficacy decreased. Specifically, illegitimate tasks did not significantly predict psychological detachment at high level of occupational self-efficacy (M + 1SD; β = − 0.067, t = − 1.535), whereas a significant negative effect was observed at moderate (M; β = − 0.132, t = − 4.507 ** ) and low levels of self-efficacy (M – 1SD; β = − 0.197, t = − 5.549 ** ). Figure 4 shows that the effect of illegitimate tasks on anger decreased as occupational self-efficacy increased. The impact of illegitimate tasks on anger was significant at all levels of occupational self-efficacy, however it was strongest when occupational self-efficacy was lowest (M – 1SD; β = 0.317, t = 7.333 ** ), stronger at moderate level of occupational self-efficacy (M; β = 0.240, t = 6.745 ** ), and weakest at highest level of occupational self-efficacy (M + 1SD; β = 0.163, t = 3.092 ** ). Likewise, the impact of illegitimate tasks on depressive mood was significant at all levels of occupational self-efficacy (Fig. 5 ). However, it was strongest when occupational self-efficacy was lowest ((M – 1SD; β = 0.285, t = 9.373 ** ), weaker at moderate level of occupational self-efficacy (M; β = 0.229, t = 9.128 ** and weakest when occupational self-efficacy was highest (M + 1SD; β = 0.172, t = 4.637 ** ). Table 4 Hierarchical regression analysis Variables Psychological detachment Anger Depressive mood Step 1 Step 1 Step 2 Step 1 Step 2 β t β t β t β t β t Gender −0.134 −3.222 ** −0.031 −0.769 −0.051 −1.284 0.053 1.360 0.040 1.031 Marital status 0.007 0.171 0.034 0.838 0.035 0.875 0.023 0.594 0.024 0.613 Age 0.237 1.001 −0.321 −1.401 −0.284 −1.255 0.002 0.008 0.024 0.108 Tenure −0.201 −0.846 0.397 1.729 0.366 1.612 -0.004 -0.019 −0.023 −0.104 Hours per week 0.076 1.802 −0.044 −1.080 −0.032 −0.801 0.026 0.662 0.033 0.843 Illegitimate tasks (IT) −0.193 −4.507 ** 0.280 6.745 ** 0.250 5.986 ** 0.367 9.128 0.348 8.548 Occupational self-efficacy (OSE) 0.170 4.000 ** −0.215 −5.233 ** −0.189 −4.583 ** -0.186 -4.672 ** −0.170 −4.225 ** IT × OSE 0.104 2.440 * −0.097 −2.361 * −0.081 −1.986 * -0.098 -2.464 * −0.089 −2.216 * Psychological detachment −0.154 −3.689 ** −0.094 −2.310 * R 2 0.134 0.175 0.207 0.227 0.234 F 10.198 ** 15.114 ** 15.269 ** 20.637 19.088 ** Moderated mediation effect To further examine the conditional indirect effects, a moderated mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro (Model 7), with 5,000 bootstrap samples and 95% bias-corrected confidence intervals. The conditional effects were evaluated at three levels of the moderator: the mean, one standard deviation above the mean, and one standard deviation below the mean. As shown in Table 5 , the index of moderated mediation was statistically significant for both anger (index = -0.033, 95% CI [-0.067,-0.005]) and depressive mood (index = -0.017, 95% CI [-0.039, -0.002]). Thus, hypotheses 5a and 5b were supported. Specifically, the indirect effect of illegitimate tasks on anger through psychological detachment was significant at both low ( β = 0.050, 95% CI [0.025, 0.081]) and moderate ( β = 0.033, 95% CI [0.015, 0.055]) levels of occupational self-efficacy, but was not significant at high level of occupational self-efficacy ( β = 0.011, 95% CI [− 0.004, 0.040]). Similarly, the indirect effect on depressive mood through psychological detachment was also significant at low ( β = 0.025, 95% CI [0.008, 0.048]) and moderate ( β = 0.017, 95% CI [0.007, 0.031]) levels of occupational self-efficacy, but nonsignificant at high level ( β = 0.009, 95% CI [− 0.002, 0.021]). Table 5 Conditional indirect effect of illegitimate tasks on anger and depressive mood at different levels of occupational self-efficacy Anger Depressive mood Indirect effect (SE) 95% CI Indirect effect (SE) 95% CI Low (−1 SD) 0.050 (0.015) [0.025, 0,081] 0.025 (0.010) [0.08, 0.048] Moderate (Mean) 0.033 (0.010) [0.015, 0.055] 0.017 (0.007) [0.005, 0.031] High (+ 1 SD) 0.017 (0.011) [−0.004, 0.040] 0.009 (0.006) [−0.002,0.021] Index of moderated mediation Index (SE) 95% CI Index (SE) 95% CI −0.033 (0.016) [−0.067,−0.005] −0.017 (0.010) [−0.039,−0.002] Discussion The primary aim of this study was to examine whether psychological detachment mediates the relationship between illegitimate tasks and emotional outcomes, specifically anger and depressive mood, and to investigate the moderating role of occupational self-efficacy in these direct and indirect pathways. The results support the hypothesized model. Psychological detachment mediated the positive effect of illegitimate tasks on anger and depressive mood, while occupational self-efficacy buffered both the direct negative effect of illegitimate tasks on detachment and the indirect effects on anger and depression through reduced psychological detachment. This study responds to recent calls in the literature to explore under-examined aspects of illegitimate tasks and psychological detachment. By integrating the stressor-detachment model with the transactional theory of stress and coping, it highlights the importance of occupational self-efficacy as a key moderator within the stressor-detachment-outcome pathway. Illegitimate tasks, often arising from ambiguous role definitions and poorly delineated job boundaries in bureaucratic settings, function as identity-related stressors. They convey implicit messages of disrespect or devaluation, which threaten an employee’s professional self-concept and can undermine their positive self-view and self-esteem, ultimately leading to emotional distress [ 34 ]. Consistent with prior research, this study reaffirms that illegitimate tasks are detrimental stressors associated with outcomes such as burnout, irritability, turnover intention, reduced job satisfaction, and lower motivation [ 35 , 36 ]. These tasks violate norms of role appropriateness and may represent a breach of psychological contract, frequently triggering anger, resentment, or depression. The presence of illegitimate tasks poses a multifaceted threat to nursing practice and the healthcare system as a whole. Not only do such tasks jeopardize nurses’ physical and mental well-being, but they also compromise patient safety and diminish the overall quality of care. As explained by the stress-as-offense-to-self (SOS) theory, being assigned tasks that fall outside their professional role often leads nurses to experience a profound sense of devaluation, undermining both their professional identity and personal dignity. Furthermore, these tasks consume valuable time and cognitive resources that would otherwise be dedicated to direct patient care, thereby eroding nursing performance and patient satisfaction. According to the effort-recovery model, work depletes an individual’s physiological and psychological resources, making adequate rest essential for their replenishment [ 37 ]. Illegitimate tasks consume considerable resources and impede psychological detachment—a core recovery process. This disruption of detachment prevents resource renewal and, over time, leads to chronic resource depletion. As a result, individuals become more vulnerable to stressors, less capable of managing negative stimuli, and increasingly prone to negative emotions. Furthermore, illegitimate tasks trigger negative, invasive, and persistent work-related rumination [ 38 ]. Employees often find themselves involuntarily preoccupied with thoughts about the unfairness, meaninglessness, and professional identity threat posed by such tasks. Rather than fostering constructive reflection, this pattern of thinking constitutes a form of continuous psychological consumption. It impairs psychological detachment and hinders the recovery of cognitive and emotional resources, ultimately exacerbating stress and reducing overall well-being. This study further supports the role of impaired detachment as a mediator between illegitimate tasks and diminished emotional well-being. Future research should examine additional consequences of impaired detachment resulting from illegitimate tasks, such as sleep disturbances, social withdrawal, or interpersonal strain, which may arise due to persistent work-life spillover. As predicted, occupational self-efficacy buffered the negative effects of illegitimate tasks on psychological detachment, anger, and depressive mood. Participants with higher levels of occupational self-efficacy reported significantly greater psychological detachment and lower levels of negative affect compared to those with lower self-efficacy. As a notable personal resource, occupational self-efficacy reflects an individual’s belief in their capability to successfully perform work-related tasks. A potential explanation for these buffering effects is that employees with high occupational self-efficacy experience less work-related rumination during off-job time, owing to greater confidence in their ability to manage job-related challenges effectively [ 39 ]. Therefore, because they are less preoccupied with upcoming work demands, they can achieve higher levels of psychological detachment. Accordingly, as psychological detachment increases, negative affect, which functions as a proximal outcome of detachment, is also likely to decrease. Together, these findings not only contribute to the growing yet still limited body of literature examining the boundary conditions of illegitimate tasks’ effects but also extend current theoretical understanding of the protective function of occupational self-efficacy. Implications for nursing management practice Our findings offer several practical implications for healthcare institutions. First, the results indicate that repeated exposure to illegitimate tasks can adversely affect nurses’ emotional well-being, elevating levels of anger and depressive mood. It is therefore recommended that hospital and nursing administrators develop strategies to identify and reduce the assignment of such tasks through clearer role definitions and revised organizational protocols. For instance, head nurses can lead a collaborative process to develop a clear "task list" that specifies designated personnel responsible for various routine duties. Second, given that illegitimate tasks contribute to anger and depression via impaired psychological detachment, especially when such tasks are unavoidable, organizations should actively support employees in strengthening their recovery processes. Training programs focused on establishing cognitive and behavioral boundaries between work and personal life may be particularly beneficial. Introducing brief daily interventions, such as guided mindfulness or positive reflection exercises, can help mitigate exhaustion, replenish psychological resources, and improve sleep quality. Finally, this study underscores the protective role of occupational self-efficacy in buffering the effects of illegitimate tasks on detachment and emotional health. Health organizations are encouraged to facilitate opportunities for skill development, including continuous training, professional workshops, and accessible online courses, to enhance employees’ sense of competence and confidence. Limitations and future research directions This study has several limitations that should be acknowledged and addressed in future research. First, although the three-wave data collection design reduces certain risks of common method bias, it does not fully overcome inherent causal inference constraints, as each variable was measured only once per wave. Future studies could adopt a multi-wave longitudinal panel design in which all constructs are measured repeatedly over time. Such an approach would not only capture dynamic trends among variables but also allow for stronger causal interpretations. Additionally, daily diary designs could serve as a valuable complement by capturing short-term within-person fluctuations and testing whether the mediation effect of psychological detachment between illegitimate tasks and emotional outcomes (e.g., anger and depressive mood) operates at a daily level. Second, the exclusive reliance on self-reported measures may introduce common method variance and inflate observed effect sizes. Although constructs such as psychological detachment and emotional states are inherently subjective and thus appropriately assessed via self-report, future research could incorporate multi-source assessments, for example, by collecting leader ratings on the legitimacy and appropriateness of assigned tasks. This would provide a valuable external perspective and help mitigate same-source bias. Third, the generalizability of the findings may be limited due to the healthcare-specific context of this study. Replications across diverse occupational settings, industries, and cultural backgrounds are needed to assess the broader validity of the results. Finally, beyond the moderating role of occupational self-efficacy examined here, future investigations should explore other personal and contextual boundary conditions—such as perceived organizational support, job autonomy, or emotional intelligence—that may alter the relationship between illegitimate tasks and psychological detachment. Identifying additional moderators will enhance understanding of the conditions under which illegitimate tasks most severely impact detachment and well-being, thereby supporting the development of more targeted intervention strategies. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate that illegitimate tasks positively predict anger and depressive mood through reduced psychological detachment. Furthermore, occupational self-efficacy buffers both the negative effect of illegitimate tasks on psychological detachment and the subsequent indirect effect on anger and depressive mood. These results highlight the protective function of occupational self-efficacy in shaping how employees perceive and respond to illegitimate tasks. Future research should continue to explore ways to prevent and mitigate the adverse effects of illegitimate tasks, with particular attention to strengthening individual psychological resources. Declarations Acknowledgements We extend our sincere gratitude to the nurses who participated in this study and to their hospital's nursing department for their invaluable support. Author contributions Tingting Jin was responsible for the study's conceptualization, methodology, and the writing of the original draft. Yaoyin Zhou contributed to the conceptualization, literature research, data acquisition, and data interpretation. Leigang Zhang was involved in data analysis and interpretation, as well as critical revisions of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final submitted version. Funding No financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Data availability The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Ethics Statement This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of Shaoxing University. All participants provided informed consent prior to their involvement in the study. Respondents were assured of the confidentiality and anonymity of their responses, and were informed that participation was entirely voluntary. Participants retained the right to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. Consent for publication Not applicable. 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Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 22 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 01 Oct, 2025 Editor invited by journal 18 Sep, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 17 Sep, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 17 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 14 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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01:56:48","extension":"xml","order_by":13,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":148045,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"9135d21344ae4568b5fda0e526b8d2a01structuring.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7613567/v1/fc896ca8775f68d9b091ac84.xml"},{"id":93638045,"identity":"938504a4-e4d6-4673-8bdb-50084ee58011","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-16 01:56:48","extension":"html","order_by":14,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":158809,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"earlyproof.html","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7613567/v1/f14dfe508c3694e8241871cb.html"},{"id":93638030,"identity":"f859e695-c6b2-4b83-ae17-c74090fa6a80","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-16 01:56:48","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":50074,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eHypothesized model\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7613567/v1/4dce1281f912fa2302978432.jpg"},{"id":93639735,"identity":"e2aa96ac-0fe0-4fdd-9751-d1acb8d3d553","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-16 02:12:48","extension":"jpg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":50081,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eStandardized path coefficients for the proposed model\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7613567/v1/29a479a1680cde9b75261364.jpg"},{"id":93638031,"identity":"64f7e4d6-12f2-4e46-a9e1-a9238193abef","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-16 01:56:48","extension":"jpg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":30682,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eModerating effect of occupational self-efficacy on the relationship between illegitimate tasks and psychological detachment\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"3.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7613567/v1/4847eef8b11a715954a34729.jpg"},{"id":93639857,"identity":"915f4875-2e54-49d2-8997-1c158eb91a87","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-16 02:20:48","extension":"jpg","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":28490,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eModerating effect of occupational self-efficacy on the relationship between illegitimate tasks and anger\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"4.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7613567/v1/357cfcf1e724150046f94ea6.jpg"},{"id":93639082,"identity":"fec6313d-11bf-4839-81e1-850f997f05eb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-16 02:04:48","extension":"jpg","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":29100,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eModerating effect of occupational self-efficacy on the relationship between illegitimate tasks and depressive mood\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"5.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7613567/v1/2fbbbfc88114d9c8e0f6031b.jpg"},{"id":93640306,"identity":"c3ea3e68-fdfc-4d36-9c2b-e7d4ba95f642","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-16 02:28:49","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1388483,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7613567/v1/df9df08a-6db7-4095-8906-61956cee355b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The role of psychological detachment and occupational self-efficacy in the relationship between illegitimate tasks and emotional well-being: a longitudinal moderated mediation model","fulltext":[{"header":"Background","content":"\u003cp\u003eWorkplace stressors have been consistently associated with detrimental physical and psychological health outcomes [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e]. Given nurses\u0026rsquo; frequent exposure to intense physical, cognitive, and emotional demands, it is essential to investigate how work-related stressors affect their emotional well-being and to identify effective mitigating mechanisms. Among these, illegitimate tasks [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e], a relatively recent focus in occupational health research, constitute a particularly salient and understudied stressor. These tasks are defined as assignments perceived by employees to fall outside their expected responsibilities, resulting in the belief that they \u0026ldquo;should not have to perform\u0026rdquo; them [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e]. Illegitimate tasks can occur multiple times within a single workday, with studies reporting average frequencies ranging from 2 to 3 such tasks per week [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e]. Furthermore, an interview-based study revealed that approximately 10% of primary tasks and nearly 65% of secondary tasks were perceived as illegitimate by employees [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. Although employees generally seek to avoid such tasks, illegitimate assignments are becoming increasingly common in contemporary organizations, often as a result of unclear job responsibilities and poorly defined role boundaries within bureaucratic systems.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough occupational stress research has historically overlooked task-specific stressors of this kind, we argue that illegitimate tasks represent a distinct source of strain, capable of accounting for unique variance in employee outcomes above and beyond conventional stressors. As potent psychosocial stressors, illegitimate tasks elicit adverse consequences across multiple domains: emotional (e.g., anger, frustration), cognitive (e.g., impaired concentration), and behavioral (e.g., counterproductive work behaviors) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e]. Despite the accumulated findings of prior studies, the existing literature on illegitimate tasks is characterized by several important limitations that merit careful consideration. First, empirical investigations within medical and healthcare contexts remain strikingly scarce, representing a significant gap in the occupational stress literature. Second, potential individual differences in responses to illegitimate tasks are underexplored, leaving key moderators of the stress process unidentified. Third, and most critically, the field has predominantly relied on cross-sectional designs, while longitudinal evidence establishing causality and elucidating long-term mechanistic pathways remains notably absent. Fourth, while cultural characteristics such as collectivism and high power distance can influence the perception and interpretation of illegitimate tasks, our current understanding remains limited due to the predominant focus of existing research on Western individualistic contexts.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThus, the purpose of this research is to propose and examine a conceptual model in which illegitimate tasks are associated with anger and depressive mood through the mediating role of psychological detachment, with occupational self-efficacy moderating this pathway. Specifically, we hypothesize that psychological detachment mediates the effect of illegitimate tasks on anger and depressive mood among nurses in China. We further hypothesize that occupational self-efficacy moderates the relationship between illegitimate tasks and psychological detachment. Finally, we advance a moderated mediation model that the strength of the mediation effect via psychological detachment depends on the level of occupational self-efficacy. Our conceptual model is depicted in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTheoretical background\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eThe effect of illegitimate tasks on anger and depressive mood\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough the concept of illegitimate tasks remains relatively novel in organizational research, existing studies indicate that task illegitimacy is associated with a wide range of negative consequences for employees\u0026rsquo; work well-being. Exploring the concept of illegitimate tasks provides important insights into how task characteristics and assignments can shape employees\u0026rsquo; psychological health and functional effectiveness in the workplace. Illegitimate tasks encompass work responsibilities that may be perceived as exceeding reasonable expectations for an employee\u0026rsquo;s role [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. An illustrative example in clinical nursing would be requiring a nurse to change a patient\u0026rsquo;s bedpan, a task that typically falls under the responsibilities of a nursing assistant or caregiver, rather than within the scope of professional nursing practice. Illegitimate tasks are often classified into two categories: unreasonable tasks, which are perceived as belonging to another person's role, and unnecessary tasks, which are seen as futile and lacking any legitimate objective [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e]. The commonality between unreasonable and unnecessary tasks lies in the employee\u0026rsquo;s perception of their illegitimacy, that is, the belief that such tasks fall outside the scope of their expected responsibilities and therefore should not be required to perform them. Illegitimate tasks contribute to an increased workload and pose a threat to workers\u0026rsquo; confidence.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince illegitimate tasks require employees to engage in actions that lie beyond their reasonable or appropriate expectations, carrying out such tasks can erode both their professional identity and their sense of respect within the workplace. Exposure to work situations that convey disrespect or imply inadequacy may also threaten employees\u0026rsquo; self-worth and undermine their psychological well-being. As a result, researchers have recognized illegitimate tasks as a significant source of psychological stress in occupational settings. Research consistently indicates that illegitimate tasks can be associated with various negative outcomes. For example, illegitimate tasks can provoke persistent resentment and frustration [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e]. Empirical studies have shown a positive association between exposure to such tasks and elevated levels of anger, depressive mood, and reduced job satisfaction [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e]. Moreover, exposure to illegitimate tasks during the workday predicts decreased self-esteem and increased negative affect by the end of the day [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStress reactions are typically characterized by the presence of negative affect, and as a result, many studies employ measures of negative affect as indicators to assess stress [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e]. Our focus is on two significant negative emotions: anger and depressive mood. Among the negative emotions related to the perceived unfairness of illegitimate tasks, anger emerges as a particularly salient and immediate response. It is characterized by feelings of displeasure and opposition, often arising from perceptions of unjust treatment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e]. Research in organizational justice and interpersonal mistreatment indicates that employees experience heightened negative affect when subjected to unfair or disrespectful treatment. As illegitimate tasks violate norms of fairness and professional appropriateness, it is reasonable to anticipate that they may provoke these negative emotional reactions. Consequently, we hypothesize that the ongoing exposure to illegitimate tasks is likely to elicit feelings of anger.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMoreover, the impact of illegitimate tasks extends beyond their practical implications to encompass their social significance. In environments characterized by interpersonal tension, employees may interpret illegitimate tasks as indicators of disrespect or unintended malevolence, which could further exacerbate the stress response. Indeed, perceived violations of one\u0026rsquo;s professional identity can be associated with feelings of disrespect and are closely linked to perceptions of unfairness. Feelings of sadness are fundamental emotional responses to negative social encounters, particularly those involving devaluation, exclusion, or threats to one\u0026rsquo;s professional identity. By conveying implicit messages of disregard and marginalization, illegitimate tasks can potentially undermine an employee\u0026rsquo;s sense of belonging and professional worth [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e]. Furthermore, carrying out illegitimate tasks can threaten an individual\u0026rsquo;s positive self-regard and is therefore psychologically resource-depleting [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e]. Therefore, illegitimate tasks have been identified as emotionally draining [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e]. Over time, continuous exposure to these tasks may also contribute to a depressive mood. In light of this theoretical framework and supported by existing empirical evidence, we hypothesize that there is a positive association between illegitimate tasks and both anger and depressive mood.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003ea: Illegitimate tasks are positively associated with anger.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003eb: Illegitimate tasks are positively associated with depressive mood.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePsychological detachment as a mediator\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBuilding upon the stressor-detachment model, psychological detachment serves as a critical mediating mechanism that explains how job stressors lead to employee strain [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]. Psychological detachment is defined as a sense of being away from the work situation characterized by both cognitive disengagement and affective distancing from work demands during off-hours [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e]. Psychological detachment facilitates effective recovery by creating cognitive-affective boundaries that prevent work demands from depleting personal resources during non-work time. Successful detachment allows employees to replenish diminished psychological resources, thereby reducing adverse outcomes. In contrast, failure to detach can result in ongoing resource loss, contributing to psychological strain and physiological dysregulation.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJob stressors such as workload, role ambiguity, and role conflict often undermine psychological detachment by sustaining negative affective activation and promoting work-related rumination, which prolongs cognitive engagement with job demands after work and inhibits recovery [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e]. Indeed, illegitimate tasks, even when framed as part of an excessive workload, can be viewed as a manifestation of role ambiguity. By blurring the boundaries of professional responsibilities and creating uncertainty about the scope of one\u0026rsquo;s duties, they undermine role clarity. Ambiguous role definitions can lead to persistent cognitive preoccupation with work, thereby impairing psychological detachment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e]. In line with this mechanism, empirical studies confirm that illegitimate tasks, as potent workplace stressors, predict impaired psychological detachment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e]. These tasks consume considerable time and energy during work hours, often compelling employees to extend work into personal time to complete core duties. This blurring of work-life boundaries impedes mental disengagement from work. For instance, daily diary studies show that exposure to illegitimate tasks predicts increased negative affect and reduced self-esteem at the end of the workday, which in turn leads to lower psychological detachment in the evening [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]. Furthermore, illegitimate tasks correlate with reduced detachment and increased work-to-family conflict, with detachment mediating the relationship between such tasks and both time-based and strain-based conflict [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince illegitimate tasks encroach upon employees\u0026rsquo; personal time and energy, and inhibit recovery, they are likely to elicit anger, often stemming from threats to self-esteem and professional identity, as well as contribute to depressive mood through sustained strain and insufficient recovery. Previous research has demonstrated that psychological detachment mediates the link between job stressors, such as workload, and emotional outcomes like exhaustion [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e]. Drawing on these established relationships and empirical support for the mediating role of psychological detachment between stressors and well-being, we hypothesize that psychological detachment mediates the relationships between illegitimate tasks and both anger and depressive mood.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003ea: Psychological detachment mediates the positive relationship between illegitimate tasks and anger.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003eb: Psychological detachment mediates the positive relationship between illegitimate tasks and depressive mood.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eA moderated mediation model: occupational self-efficacy as a moderator\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile previous research has largely emphasized that illegitimate tasks increase the risk of negative outcomes, some evidence suggests that under specific conditions, they may also elicit a slight positive effect. One theoretical explanation for this phenomenon lies in Lazarus and Folkman\u0026rsquo;s transactional model of stress and coping, which proposes that when confronted with a demand, individuals engage in a two-stage cognitive appraisal process [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]. In the primary appraisal stage, they assess the situation through three dimensions: harm/loss (damage already occurred), threat (anticipation of future harm), and challenge (potential for growth or gain). This appraisal strongly influences whether the individual\u0026rsquo;s response will lead to adaptive or maladaptive outcomes. Subsequently, during the secondary appraisal stage, individuals evaluate whether they have sufficient resources and capabilities to cope with the perceived threat.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA number of occupational stress studies have incorporated the construct of job-related self-efficacy, defined as employees' belief in their capability to perform job tasks effectively, and have demonstrated significant associations with both psychological distress and well-being. In this study, occupational self-efficacy is examined as a moderating variable influencing the relationship between illegitimate tasks and emotional responses. Defined as an individual's belief in their ability to successfully perform tasks and cope with role-specific demands within their professional domain [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e], occupational self-efficacy is positively associated with work engagement, job satisfaction, and overall occupational well-being [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e]. Furthermore, as an important psychological resource, it fosters a sense of personal mastery and control in professional environments, thereby helping mitigate the negative impact of work stressors on both performance and psychological health. For instance, employees with high occupational self-efficacy, even those dissatisfied with their career progress, tend to demonstrate greater perseverance and exert more effort toward achieving professional goals [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on Lazarus's transactional theory of stress and coping, occupational self-efficacy is considered to serve as a protective factor that enhances an individual\u0026rsquo;s perceived coping capacity, leading to more adaptive appraisals of illegitimate tasks and a reduction in negative affect. This protective function is underpinned by two mechanisms: it fosters the cognitive reappraisal of stressors into manageable challenges and cultivates the psychological resources essential for effective coping. Since the perception of a task as illegitimate arises primarily from subjective appraisal rather than objective characteristics, employees with high occupational self-efficacy are more likely to interpret such tasks as external and temporary obstacles rather than as threats to their self-worth or professional identity. Moreover, confident in their abilities, they often adopt proactive strategies such as communicating with supervisors, reorganizing workflows, or efficiently managing tasks to minimize disruption [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]. This constructive approach helps reduce anger and depressive symptoms associated with illegitimate tasks.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003ea: Occupational self-efficacy moderates the positive relationship between illegitimate tasks and anger, such that this relationship is weaker for individuals with high occupational self-efficacy.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003eb: Occupational self-efficacy moderates the positive relationship between illegitimate tasks and depressive mood, such that this relationship is weaker for individuals with high occupational self-efficacy.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWithin the stressor-detachment framework, Sonnentag and Fritz propose that individual characteristics, such as self-esteem and optimism, may function as protective buffers that help mitigate the adverse effects of job stressors on psychological detachment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]. Given the similarities between occupational self-efficacy and these characteristics, it is reasonable to suggest that occupational self-efficacy might also alleviate the negative impact of illegitimate tasks on psychological detachment. Employees with higher levels of occupational self-efficacy are generally more adept at drawing and maintaining clear boundaries between their professional and personal lives compared to those with lower self-efficacy [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]. Their confidence in their overall abilities enables them to delineate their work and personal roles more effectively. Consequently, after work, they can affirm to themselves, \u0026ldquo;My tasks are complete; now it is time to focus on my personal life\u0026rdquo;, thereby fostering psychological detachment. Conversely, individuals with lower occupational self-efficacy may find themselves engaging in persistent rumination about work-related issues. Their struggles to resolve these issues can lead to negative emotions and frustrations that extend into their personal time. As a result, they may often revisit distressing events from their day, repeatedly questioning, \u0026ldquo;Why did this happen to me?\u0026rdquo; or \u0026rdquo;What should I do?\u0026rdquo;. This pattern can hinder their ability to disengage cognitively from work, maintaining a state of mental preoccupation. In light of this reasoning, we propose that higher levels of occupational self-efficacy may serve to dampen the negative effect of illegitimate tasks on psychological detachment.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis 4\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003eOccupational self-efficacy moderates the negative relationship between illegitimate tasks and psychological detachment, such that this relationship is weaker among individuals with high occupational self-efficacy.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe present study proposes that occupational self-efficacy moderates the mediating effect of psychological detachment on the relationship between illegitimate tasks and anger and depressive mood. Specifically, for employees with high occupational self-efficacy, the indirect effect of illegitimate tasks on anger and depression through reduced psychological detachment is expected to be weaker. These individuals tend to attribute such tasks to external or situational factors\u0026mdash;such as ambiguous role expectations or temporary organizational requirements\u0026mdash;rather than to their own competence. This adaptive appraisal acts as a psychological buffer, helping them maintain higher levels of psychological detachment after work. As a result, they experience less lingering negative emotion, which attenuates feelings of anger and depression. Conversely, employees with low occupational self-efficacy are more prone to internalizing illegitimate tasks, viewing them as evidence of personal failure or inadequacy. This negative appraisal heightens the perceived threat of the situation and further impedes psychological detachment. They are more likely to engage in persistent rumination and struggle to mentally disengage from work-related thoughts. Consequently, the mediated pathway via impaired detachment is strengthened, leading to more severe anger and depressive symptoms.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003ea: The indirect effect of illegitimate tasks on anger via psychological detachment will be weaker for individuals with high occupational self-efficacy.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003eb: The indirect effect of illegitimate tasks on depressive mood via psychological detachment will be weaker for individuals with high occupational self-efficacy.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Method","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSample and procedure\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eEmploying a longitudinal design, this study was conducted in Eastern China between July and September 2023 using self-report questionnaires. After obtaining approval from the institutional ethics committee, participants were voluntarily recruited from eight general hospitals. Upon reviewing informed consent materials, which outlined the research objectives and participation requirements, participants were provided access to the survey via SoJump links distributed through WeChat. Data collection involved three waves of online surveys administered at four-week intervals. This interval was chosen based on existing literature indicating optimal time lags for assessing stress-related constructs. Longitudinal studies examining the effects of psychological detachment on strain often utilize intervals ranging from two to five weeks [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e], supporting the appropriateness of the multi-wave design for capturing such dynamic processes. Furthermore, prior research on the relationship between illegitimate tasks and strain has commonly employed lags of four to six weeks when collecting multi-wave data [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e]. Demographic information and measures of illegitimate tasks were assessed at T1. Occupational self-efficacy and psychological disengagement were measured at T2, followed by assessments of anger and depression at T3. At each scheduled time point, automated reminders were sent via WeChat to prompt participants to complete the subsequent survey wave.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOf the 650 employees who initially agreed to participate and completed the T1 survey, 592 (91.08%) completed T2, and 535 (82.31%) completed all three waves. To assess potential attrition bias, we compared participants who completed all three questionnaires with those who dropped out after T1 or T2 (combined into a single attrition group). No significant differences were observed in demographic characteristics or any study variables, indicating that the data were missing completely at random. The final analytic sample was 88.79% female, with a mean age of 36.59 years (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;6.65). The majority (82.62%) were cohabiting with a partner, and 82.06% had children. On average, participants had a job tenure of 13.27 years (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;7.37) and worked 44.09 hours per week (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.83).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMeasures\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eDemographic variables\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003ePrevious research has established that some demographic variables, including age, gender, education, work experience, job title, marital status, and number of children, must be controlled for since they may influence individuals\u0026rsquo; responses to workplace stressors.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eIllegitimate tasks\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIllegitimate tasks were assessed using the 8-item scale developed by Semmer et al., which measures the extent to which employees perceive tasks as unreasonable or inconsistent with their professional role [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. Sample items include: \u0026ldquo;Today, did you have work tasks to take care of, which you believe should be done by someone else?\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;Today, did you have work tasks to take care of, which kept you wondering if they make sense at all?\u0026rdquo;. Responses were recorded on a 5-point frequency scale ranging from 1 (Never) to 5 (Frequently). The scale demonstrated good internal consistency in this study, with a Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α of 0.85.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eOccupational self-efficacy\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eOccupational self-efficacy was measured using the eight-item scale by Rigotti et al [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e]. A sample item is: \u0026ldquo;I met the goals that I set for myself in my job.\u0026rdquo; Responses were provided on a 5-point Likert-type scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The scale showed acceptable internal consistency in this study, with a Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α of 0.73.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePsychological detachment\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003ePsychological detachment was evaluated with four items adapted from Sonnentag and Fritz [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. An example item is: \u0026ldquo;During the time after work, I forget about work.\u0026rdquo; Participants rated their agreement on a 5-point frequency scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always). The Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α of this scale in the current study was 0.63.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAnger and depressive mood\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnger was assessed using three items from the Strain Symptom Inventory [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e]. Sample items include: \u0026ldquo;To what extent do you feel angry when exposed to illegitimate tasks?\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;To what extent do you feel aggravated when exposed to illegitimate tasks?\u0026rdquo;. Items were rated on a 5-point scale from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much). The Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α of this scale in the current study was 0.66. Depressive mood was measured with a 13-item short form of the Beck Depression Inventory, which evaluates the severity of depressive symptoms over the previous two weeks [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e]. Example items include: \u0026ldquo;I am not pessimistic or disappointed about my future\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;I don\u0026rsquo;t feel depressed.\u0026rdquo; Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much). Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s a in this study was 0.73.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eEthical considerations\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthical approval\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003e for the study was granted by the Institutional Review Board of Shaoxing University. Authorization for data collection was obtained from all participating hospitals. Before administering the survey, participants received an introductory letter that explained the study's purpose and procedures. Written informed consent was obtained at the beginning of the study. Participants were assured of the confidentiality and anonymity of their responses, as well as their right to withdraw from the study at any time without providing a reason.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAnalytic procedure\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0 and Mplus version 8.0. Before testing the hypotheses, a series of preliminary analyses was conducted. Descriptive statistics, including means and standard deviations, were calculated, along with reliability coefficients (Cronbach's α) and correlations among the variables. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was then performed to assess the discriminant validity of all variables. To test the moderated mediation hypotheses, a path analysis framework was adopted. First, mediation effects were examined using bias-corrected bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples in Mplus. Next, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted with the PROCESS macro (Model 1) to explore the moderating effect of occupational self-efficacy. When a significant interaction was detected, simple slope analyses were performed to interpret the moderation pattern. High, medium, and low levels of the moderator were defined as one standard deviation above the mean, at the mean, and one standard deviation below the mean, respectively. Finally, conditional indirect effects were examined using the PROCESS macro (Model 7) to evaluate how these effects varied across different levels of the moderator.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMeasurement model\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003ePrior to hypothesis testing, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to assess discriminant validity among the key constructs. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the five-factor model, which included illegitimate tasks, occupational self-efficacy, psychological detachment, anger, and depressive mood. The model demonstrated an acceptable fit to the data (χ\u0026sup2;/df\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.31, CFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.93, TLI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.91, SRMR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05, and RMSEA\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05). For comparison, alternative measurement models (i.e., one-, two-, three-, and four-factor models) were also tested by loading the observed variables accordingly. The chi-square difference tests indicated that these alternative models had a significantly worse fit than the five-factor model (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). These results offer empirical evidence supporting the discriminant validity of the examined constructs.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eComparison of measurement model fit indices\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeasurement models\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eχ\u0026sup2;/df\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eCFI\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTLI\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSRMR\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eRMSEA\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.One-factor model\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e13.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.46\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.44\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.16\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.18\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.Two-factor model (illegitimate tasks\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;occupational self-efficacy\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;psychological detachment, anger\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;depressive mood)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e10.73\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.56\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.53\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.Three-factor model (illegitimate tasks\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;occupational self-efficacy\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;psychological detachment, anger, depressive mood)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e8.85\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.58\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.55\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.10\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.Four-factor model (illegitimate tasks\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;occupational self-efficacy, psychological detachment, anger, depressive mood)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.23\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.72\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.69\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.09\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.10\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5.Five-factor model\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.31\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.93\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.91\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eDescriptive statistics\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e presents the descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations among the variables. Illegitimate tasks were negatively related to occupational self-efficacy (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = -0.226, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01) and psychological detachment (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = -0.254, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01), but positively related to anger (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.340, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01) and depressive mood (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.433, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01). Occupational self-efficacy was positively related to psychological detachment (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.240, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01), and negatively related to anger (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = -0.300, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01) and depressive mood (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = -0.289, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01). Finally, psychological detachment was negatively related to anger (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = -0.271, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01) and depressive mood (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = -0.241, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeans, standard deviations, and correlations among the variables\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;SD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1. Illegitimate tasks\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.02\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.69\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2. Occupational self-efficacy\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.23\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.50\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.226\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3. Psychological detachment\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.35\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.47\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.254\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.240\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4. Anger\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.14\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.60\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.340\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.300\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.271\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5. Depressive mood\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.95\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.43\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.433\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.289\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.241\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.404\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eHypothesis testing\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec20\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eDirect and mediating effects\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eStructural equation modeling (SEM) was performed using Mplus version 8.0 with maximum likelihood estimation to examine the hypothesized relationships among the constructs. To examine the indirect effects, bias-corrected bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples was employed to estimate 95% confidence intervals. The 95% confidence interval includes zero, indicating that the mediating effect is not statistically significant. The model demonstrated good fit to the data (χ\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e/df\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.74, CFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.98, TLI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.92, RMSEA\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.06, SRMR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05). As shown by the standardized path coefficients (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e), illegitimate tasks positively predicted both anger (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.290, 95% CI [0.225, 0.356]) and depressive mood (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.397, 95% CI [0.331, 0.458]), thus providing support for Hypotheses 1a and 1b. Illegitimate tasks also negatively predicted psychological detachment (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = -0.254, 95% CI [-0.324, -0.183]). In turn, psychological detachment negatively predicted both anger (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = -0.198, 95% CI [-0.261, -0.138]) and depressive mood (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = -0.141, 95% CI [-0.211, -0.067]). As shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, the indirect effect of illegitimate tasks on anger through psychological detachment was significant (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.050, 95% CI [0.031, 0.076]), supporting Hypothesis 2a. Similarly, the indirect effect on depressive mood was also significant (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.035, 95% CI [0.017, 0.062]), supporting Hypothesis 2b. Taken together, these results indicate that psychological detachment partially mediates the relationship between illegitimate tasks and both anger and depressive mood.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDirect and indirect effects on anger and depressive mood\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePath\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDirect Effect (SE)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndirect Effect (SE)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIllegitimate tasks \u0026rarr; Anger\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.290\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e (0.040)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.225, 0.356]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIllegitimate tasks \u0026rarr; Depressive mood\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.397\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e (0.038)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.331, 0.458]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIllegitimate tasks \u0026rarr; Psychological detachment\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.254\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e (0.043)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.324,\u0026minus;0.183]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePsychological detachment \u0026rarr; Anger\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.198\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e (0.037)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.261,\u0026minus;0.138]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePsychological detachment \u0026rarr; Depressive mood\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.141\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e (0.045)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.211,\u0026minus;0.067]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIllegitimate tasks \u0026rarr; Psychological detachment \u0026rarr; Anger\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.050\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e (0.013)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.031, 0.076]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIllegitimate tasks \u0026rarr; Psychological detachment \u0026rarr; Depressive mood\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.035\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e (0.013)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.017, 0.062]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec21\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eModeration effects\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA series of hierarchical moderated regression analyses was conducted separately using the PROCESS macro (Model 1) to examine the moderating role of occupational self-efficacy in the relationships between illegitimate tasks and three outcome variables: psychological detachment, anger, and depressive mood. To reduce the risk of multicollinearity, all variables were centered at their means. As shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, illegitimate tasks significantly negatively predicted psychological detachment (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = -0.193, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e = -4.507\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e), and positively predicted anger (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.280, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;6.745\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e) and depressive mood (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.367, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9.128\u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e**\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e). Occupational self-efficacy positively predicted psychological detachment (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.170, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;4.000\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e), and negatively predicted anger (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = -0.215, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e = -5.233\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e) and depressive mood (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = -0.186, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e = -4.672\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e). Furthermore, the interaction between illegitimate tasks and occupational self-efficacy was significant in predicting psychological detachment (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.104, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.440\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e), anger (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = -0.097, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e = -2.361\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e), and depressive mood (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = -0.098, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.464\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e). Therefore, Hypotheses 3a, 3b, and 4 were supported.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo further examine the significant interaction effects, simple slope analyses were conducted. As illustrated in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, the effect of illegitimate tasks on psychological detachment increased as occupational self-efficacy decreased. Specifically, illegitimate tasks did not significantly predict psychological detachment at high level of occupational self-efficacy (M\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;1SD; \u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.067, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1.535), whereas a significant negative effect was observed at moderate (M; \u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.132, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;4.507\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e) and low levels of self-efficacy (M \u0026ndash; 1SD; \u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.197, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;5.549\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e). Figure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e shows that the effect of illegitimate tasks on anger decreased as occupational self-efficacy increased. The impact of illegitimate tasks on anger was significant at all levels of occupational self-efficacy, however it was strongest when occupational self-efficacy was lowest (M \u0026ndash; 1SD; \u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.317, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;7.333\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e), stronger at moderate level of occupational self-efficacy (M; \u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.240, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;6.745\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e), and weakest at highest level of occupational self-efficacy (M\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;1SD; \u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.163, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.092\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e). Likewise, the impact of illegitimate tasks on depressive mood was significant at all levels of occupational self-efficacy (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e). However, it was strongest when occupational self-efficacy was lowest ((M \u0026ndash; 1SD; \u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.285, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9.373\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e), weaker at moderate level of occupational self-efficacy (M; \u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.229, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9.128\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e and weakest when occupational self-efficacy was highest (M\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;1SD; \u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.172, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;4.637\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eHierarchical regression analysis\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"13\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c12\" colnum=\"12\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c13\" colnum=\"13\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePsychological detachment\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnger\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c13\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDepressive mood\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eStep 1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eStep 1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eStep 2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c11\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eStep 1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c13\" namest=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eStep 2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003et\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003et\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003et\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003et\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003et\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.134\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;3.222\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.031\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.769\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.051\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;1.284\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.053\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.360\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.040\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.031\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMarital status\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.007\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.171\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.034\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.838\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.035\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.875\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.023\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.594\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.024\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.613\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.237\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.001\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.321\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;1.401\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.284\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;1.255\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.002\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.008\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.024\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.108\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTenure\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.201\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.846\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.397\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.729\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.366\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.612\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.004\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.019\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.023\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.104\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eHours per week\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.076\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.802\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.044\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;1.080\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.032\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.801\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.026\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.662\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.033\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.843\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIllegitimate tasks (IT)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.193\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;4.507\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.280\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e6.745\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.250\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5.986\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.367\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e9.128\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.348\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e8.548\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eOccupational self-efficacy (OSE)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.170\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.000\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.215\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;5.233\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.189\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;4.583\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.186\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-4.672\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.170\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;4.225\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIT \u0026times; OSE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.104\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.440\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.097\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;2.361\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.081\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;1.986\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.098\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-2.464\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.089\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;2.216\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePsychological detachment\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.154\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;3.689\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.094\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;2.310\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.134\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.175\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.207\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c11\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.227\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c13\" namest=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.234\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eF\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e10.198\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e15.114\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e15.269\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c11\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e20.637\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c13\" namest=\"c12\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e19.088\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eModerated mediation effect\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo further examine the conditional indirect effects, a moderated mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro (Model 7), with 5,000 bootstrap samples and 95% bias-corrected confidence intervals. The conditional effects were evaluated at three levels of the moderator: the mean, one standard deviation above the mean, and one standard deviation below the mean. As shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e, the index of moderated mediation was statistically significant for both anger (index = -0.033, 95% CI [-0.067,-0.005]) and depressive mood (index = -0.017, 95% CI [-0.039, -0.002]). Thus, hypotheses 5a and 5b were supported. Specifically, the indirect effect of illegitimate tasks on anger through psychological detachment was significant at both low (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.050, 95% CI [0.025, 0.081]) and moderate (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.033, 95% CI [0.015, 0.055]) levels of occupational self-efficacy, but was not significant at high level of occupational self-efficacy (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.011, 95% CI [\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.004, 0.040]). Similarly, the indirect effect on depressive mood through psychological detachment was also significant at low (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.025, 95% CI [0.008, 0.048]) and moderate (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.017, 95% CI [0.007, 0.031]) levels of occupational self-efficacy, but nonsignificant at high level (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.009, 95% CI [\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.002, 0.021]).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eConditional indirect effect of illegitimate tasks on anger and depressive mood at different levels of occupational self-efficacy\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnger\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDepressive mood\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndirect effect (SE)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndirect effect (SE)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eLow (\u0026minus;1 SD)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.050 (0.015)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.025, 0,081]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.025 (0.010)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.08, 0.048]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eModerate (Mean)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.033 (0.010)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.015, 0.055]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.017 (0.007)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.005, 0.031]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eHigh (+\u0026thinsp;1 SD)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.017 (0.011)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.004, 0.040]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.009 (0.006)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.002,0.021]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndex of moderated mediation\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndex (SE)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndex (SE)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.033 (0.016)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.067,\u0026minus;0.005]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.017 (0.010)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.039,\u0026minus;0.002]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe primary aim of this study was to examine whether psychological detachment mediates the relationship between illegitimate tasks and emotional outcomes, specifically anger and depressive mood, and to investigate the moderating role of occupational self-efficacy in these direct and indirect pathways. The results support the hypothesized model. Psychological detachment mediated the positive effect of illegitimate tasks on anger and depressive mood, while occupational self-efficacy buffered both the direct negative effect of illegitimate tasks on detachment and the indirect effects on anger and depression through reduced psychological detachment. This study responds to recent calls in the literature to explore under-examined aspects of illegitimate tasks and psychological detachment. By integrating the stressor-detachment model with the transactional theory of stress and coping, it highlights the importance of occupational self-efficacy as a key moderator within the stressor-detachment-outcome pathway.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIllegitimate tasks, often arising from ambiguous role definitions and poorly delineated job boundaries in bureaucratic settings, function as identity-related stressors. They convey implicit messages of disrespect or devaluation, which threaten an employee\u0026rsquo;s professional self-concept and can undermine their positive self-view and self-esteem, ultimately leading to emotional distress [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e]. Consistent with prior research, this study reaffirms that illegitimate tasks are detrimental stressors associated with outcomes such as burnout, irritability, turnover intention, reduced job satisfaction, and lower motivation [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e]. These tasks violate norms of role appropriateness and may represent a breach of psychological contract, frequently triggering anger, resentment, or depression. The presence of illegitimate tasks poses a multifaceted threat to nursing practice and the healthcare system as a whole. Not only do such tasks jeopardize nurses\u0026rsquo; physical and mental well-being, but they also compromise patient safety and diminish the overall quality of care. As explained by the stress-as-offense-to-self (SOS) theory, being assigned tasks that fall outside their professional role often leads nurses to experience a profound sense of devaluation, undermining both their professional identity and personal dignity. Furthermore, these tasks consume valuable time and cognitive resources that would otherwise be dedicated to direct patient care, thereby eroding nursing performance and patient satisfaction.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAccording to the effort-recovery model, work depletes an individual\u0026rsquo;s physiological and psychological resources, making adequate rest essential for their replenishment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e]. Illegitimate tasks consume considerable resources and impede psychological detachment\u0026mdash;a core recovery process. This disruption of detachment prevents resource renewal and, over time, leads to chronic resource depletion. As a result, individuals become more vulnerable to stressors, less capable of managing negative stimuli, and increasingly prone to negative emotions. Furthermore, illegitimate tasks trigger negative, invasive, and persistent work-related rumination [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e]. Employees often find themselves involuntarily preoccupied with thoughts about the unfairness, meaninglessness, and professional identity threat posed by such tasks. Rather than fostering constructive reflection, this pattern of thinking constitutes a form of continuous psychological consumption. It impairs psychological detachment and hinders the recovery of cognitive and emotional resources, ultimately exacerbating stress and reducing overall well-being. This study further supports the role of impaired detachment as a mediator between illegitimate tasks and diminished emotional well-being. Future research should examine additional consequences of impaired detachment resulting from illegitimate tasks, such as sleep disturbances, social withdrawal, or interpersonal strain, which may arise due to persistent work-life spillover.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs predicted, occupational self-efficacy buffered the negative effects of illegitimate tasks on psychological detachment, anger, and depressive mood. Participants with higher levels of occupational self-efficacy reported significantly greater psychological detachment and lower levels of negative affect compared to those with lower self-efficacy. As a notable personal resource, occupational self-efficacy reflects an individual\u0026rsquo;s belief in their capability to successfully perform work-related tasks. A potential explanation for these buffering effects is that employees with high occupational self-efficacy experience less work-related rumination during off-job time, owing to greater confidence in their ability to manage job-related challenges effectively [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e]. Therefore, because they are less preoccupied with upcoming work demands, they can achieve higher levels of psychological detachment. Accordingly, as psychological detachment increases, negative affect, which functions as a proximal outcome of detachment, is also likely to decrease. Together, these findings not only contribute to the growing yet still limited body of literature examining the boundary conditions of illegitimate tasks\u0026rsquo; effects but also extend current theoretical understanding of the protective function of occupational self-efficacy.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eImplications for nursing management practice\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOur findings offer several practical implications for healthcare institutions. First, the results indicate that repeated exposure to illegitimate tasks can adversely affect nurses\u0026rsquo; emotional well-being, elevating levels of anger and depressive mood. It is therefore recommended that hospital and nursing administrators develop strategies to identify and reduce the assignment of such tasks through clearer role definitions and revised organizational protocols. For instance, head nurses can lead a collaborative process to develop a clear \"task list\" that specifies designated personnel responsible for various routine duties. Second, given that illegitimate tasks contribute to anger and depression via impaired psychological detachment, especially when such tasks are unavoidable, organizations should actively support employees in strengthening their recovery processes. Training programs focused on establishing cognitive and behavioral boundaries between work and personal life may be particularly beneficial. Introducing brief daily interventions, such as guided mindfulness or positive reflection exercises, can help mitigate exhaustion, replenish psychological resources, and improve sleep quality. Finally, this study underscores the protective role of occupational self-efficacy in buffering the effects of illegitimate tasks on detachment and emotional health. Health organizations are encouraged to facilitate opportunities for skill development, including continuous training, professional workshops, and accessible online courses, to enhance employees\u0026rsquo; sense of competence and confidence.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec23\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eLimitations and future research directions\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study has several limitations that should be acknowledged and addressed in future research. First, although the three-wave data collection design reduces certain risks of common method bias, it does not fully overcome inherent causal inference constraints, as each variable was measured only once per wave. Future studies could adopt a multi-wave longitudinal panel design in which all constructs are measured repeatedly over time. Such an approach would not only capture dynamic trends among variables but also allow for stronger causal interpretations. Additionally, daily diary designs could serve as a valuable complement by capturing short-term within-person fluctuations and testing whether the mediation effect of psychological detachment between illegitimate tasks and emotional outcomes (e.g., anger and depressive mood) operates at a daily level. Second, the exclusive reliance on self-reported measures may introduce common method variance and inflate observed effect sizes. Although constructs such as psychological detachment and emotional states are inherently subjective and thus appropriately assessed via self-report, future research could incorporate multi-source assessments, for example, by collecting leader ratings on the legitimacy and appropriateness of assigned tasks. This would provide a valuable external perspective and help mitigate same-source bias. Third, the generalizability of the findings may be limited due to the healthcare-specific context of this study. Replications across diverse occupational settings, industries, and cultural backgrounds are needed to assess the broader validity of the results. Finally, beyond the moderating role of occupational self-efficacy examined here, future investigations should explore other personal and contextual boundary conditions\u0026mdash;such as perceived organizational support, job autonomy, or emotional intelligence\u0026mdash;that may alter the relationship between illegitimate tasks and psychological detachment. Identifying additional moderators will enhance understanding of the conditions under which illegitimate tasks most severely impact detachment and well-being, thereby supporting the development of more targeted intervention strategies.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eOur findings demonstrate that illegitimate tasks positively predict anger and depressive mood through reduced psychological detachment. Furthermore, occupational self-efficacy buffers both the negative effect of illegitimate tasks on psychological detachment and the subsequent indirect effect on anger and depressive mood. These results highlight the protective function of occupational self-efficacy in shaping how employees perceive and respond to illegitimate tasks. Future research should continue to explore ways to prevent and mitigate the adverse effects of illegitimate tasks, with particular attention to strengthening individual psychological resources.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe extend our sincere gratitude to the nurses who participated in this study and to their hospital\u0026apos;s nursing department for their invaluable support.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTingting Jin was responsible for the study\u0026apos;s conceptualization, methodology, and the writing of the original draft. Yaoyin Zhou contributed to the conceptualization, literature research, data acquisition, and data interpretation. Leigang Zhang was involved in data analysis and interpretation, as well as critical revisions of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final submitted version.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics Statement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of Shaoxing University. All participants provided informed consent prior to their involvement in the study. Respondents were assured of the confidentiality and anonymity of their responses, and were informed that participation was entirely voluntary. Participants retained the right to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRupprecht EA, Kueny CR, Shoss MK, Metzger AJ. Getting what you want: how fit between desired and received leader sensitivity influences emotion and counterproductive work behavior. 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J Occup Health Psychol. 2014;;19(2):195\u0026ndash;205. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1037/a0035448\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1037/a0035448\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e. .\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUnger D, Šujanov\u0026aacute; P, Čierna M, Šolt\u0026eacute;s E. Illegitimate tasks and their negative consequences for mental health and self-esteem: the mediating role of psychological detachment. Work Stress. 2021;;35(1):76\u0026ndash;91. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2020.1832608\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1080/02678373.2020.1832608\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e. .\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTakagishi Y, Sakata M, Kitamura T. Influence of rumination and self-efficacy on depression in Japanese undergraduate nursing students. Asian J Soc Psychol. 2013;;16(3):163\u0026ndash;8. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12000\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1111/ajsp.12000\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e. .\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-nursing","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"nurs","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Nursing](http://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/nurs/default.aspx","title":"BMC Nursing","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Illegitimate tasks, Psychological detachment, Emotional well-being Occupational self-efficacy","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7613567/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7613567/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBackground\u003c/b\u003e Illegitimate tasks, as a workplace stressor, have been associated with a range of detrimental effects on employee well-being. However, the potential underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions linking illegitimate tasks to work-relevant negative psychological states remain insufficiently explored in current literature. As such, this study aimed to investigate the mediating role of psychological detachment in the relationship between illegitimate tasks and two negative affects (anger and depressive mood), while also examining occupational self-efficacy as a potential moderator of these relationships.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMethods\u003c/b\u003e This study adopted a three-wave longitudinal design, involving a sample of 650 registered nurses from healthcare institutions across China. At Time 1, a total of 650 participants provided demographic information and reported their levels of perceived illegitimate tasks. Four weeks later (Time 2), participants (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;592) completed measures assessing occupational self-efficacy and psychological detachment. At Time 3, conducted four weeks after Time 2, participants (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;535) provided self-reported data on anger and depressive symptoms. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analysis, incorporating a bootstrapping procedure, were employed to examine the hypothesized model.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eResults\u003c/b\u003e Illegitimate tasks positively predicted anger (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.290, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01) and depressive mood (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.397, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01), but negatively predicted psychological detachment (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = -0.254, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01). Psychological detachment partially mediated the effects of illegitimate tasks on both anger (indirect effect\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.050, 95% CI [0.031, 0.076]) and depressive mood (indirect effect\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.035, 95% CI [0.017, 0.062]). Moreover, moderated mediation analyses revealed that the negative effect of illegitimate tasks on psychological detachment, along with their indirect effects on anger (index of moderated mediation\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.033, 95% CI [-0.067, -0.005]) and depressive mood (index of moderated mediation = -0.017, 95% CI [-0.039, -0.002]) through psychological detachment, were significantly more pronounced among nurses with low occupational self-efficacy compared to those with moderate or high levels.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eConclusion\u003c/b\u003e This study elucidates a mediated pathway in which illegitimate tasks diminish nurse well-being via impairments in psychological detachment. Crucially, our results reveal occupational self-efficacy as a moderator that attenuates this negative relationship. These insights provide a clear theoretical rationale for healthcare organizations to invest in strategies that enhance nurses\u0026rsquo; occupational self-efficacy, thereby mitigating the detrimental impact of unavoidable illegitimate tasks.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The role of psychological detachment and occupational self-efficacy in the relationship between illegitimate tasks and emotional well-being: a longitudinal moderated mediation model","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-16 01:56:43","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7613567/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-23T01:02:34+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"303883488921890932185504870115821372337","date":"2025-10-05T12:10:05+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-10-02T02:15:30+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-09-18T06:32:51+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-09-17T08:22:11+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-09-17T08:21:22+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Nursing","date":"2025-09-14T15:22:04+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-nursing","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"nurs","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Nursing](http://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/nurs/default.aspx","title":"BMC Nursing","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"40a89625-bdec-41e9-a522-c77ba341ae9c","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 16th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-10-16T01:56:43+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-16 01:56:43","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7613567","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7613567","identity":"rs-7613567","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}