Biography

I completed my BSc Psychology in 2010 at the University of London, where I was awarded the degree with first class honours. I completed my MSc in Health Psychology in 2011 at the University of Surrey where I was awarded a distinction. Funded by a student bursary from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), my PhD will explore the factors that interfere with recovery from work-related stress, and health consequences associated with inadequate recovery.

I worked in international and global organisations (public and private) for 15 years before deciding to make a career change to academia. I observed that many individuals appeared to be adversely affected by their working environments and this initiated my interest in this research area. With individuals being constantly connected to their work (both in the office and at home) it seems reasonable to posit there may be adverse health consequences associated with reduced 'recovery' time. When individuals go to work, they expend physical and psychological resources. When they are not at work, it is important they refresh these resources in order to perform for their next shift. I am interested in both the short-term (acute) and longer-term (chronic) health consequences of inability to recover adequately between work shifts.

Research Interests

I am currently studying towards a PhD in Psychology with a particular focus on both the short-term (acute) and longer-term (chronic) health consequences of inability to recover adequately between work shifts. In order to explore this it is important to identify the factors that interfere with the recovery process. Of particular interest in my research are work-related rumination (perseverative thinking about work when not at work), compromised sleep and chronotype (sleep/waking cycles). Research conducted as part of my MSc suggests that work-related rumination is a major predictor of increased work-related fatigue. It is possible that this relationship is at least partially mediated by the impact of work-related rumination on sleep. Compromised sleep is associated with increased levels of fatigue and it may be that the way in which work-related rumination operates is to interfere with sleep, particularly by delaying sleep onset.

Theoretically, this research could help us understand more fully factors that interfere with peoples ability to recover when they are not at work. Practically, the results of this research could benefit individuals, through development of employee well-being programmes to aid recovery when not at work; and organisations, by enabling them to better understand the needs of their diverse working population. Enabling individuals to maximise their recovery time has important health implications and could result in a reduction of absenteeism from work translating to millions of pounds in savings of statutory sick pay.

Publications

Academic Publications

Querstret, D., & Cropley, M. (2012). Exploring the relationship between work-related rumination, sleep quality, and work-related fatigue. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 17, 341-353.

Querstret, D., & Robinson, O. C. Person, persona and personality modification: An in-depth qualitative exploration of quantitative findings. Qualitative Research in Psychology, in press.

Professional Publications

Querstret, D., & Cropley, M. (2011). Why nurses need to recover after work. Nursing Times, 107, 14-17.

Conference papers and published abstracts

Querstret, D., & Cropley, M. (2012). Investigating the relationship between work-related rumination, sleep quality and work-related fatigue. Paper presented at the 10th European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology conference, 11 to 13 April, Zurich, Switzerland.

Querstret, D., Robinson, O. C. (2010). ‘Putting on an act? Exploring motivations for, and experiences of, high cross-context personality variability in young adults’. Paper presented at the British Psychological Society national conference, 14 - 16 April, Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

Teaching

I am currently teaching critical thinking skills on the MSc Health Psychology course with an emphasis on critical evaluation of journal articles.

Contact me

If you personally, or the organisation you represent, would be interested in being involved in my research, please do contact me on the details below.

Email: d.querstret@surrey.ac.uk
Phone: +44(0)1483 686 870