In spite of research evidence suggesting that detaching oneself from work during off-work hours aids in better work stress recovery and reduction in burnout symptoms (Sonnentag & Fritz, 2007; Sonnentag et al., 2010; Weigelt et al., 2019), it is sometimes inevitable for employees to think about past work experiences, particularly negative or stressful work experience, in their downtime (Sandoval-Reyes et al., 2021). Many stressful work events, such as having a frustrating interaction with a colleague, receiving negative feedback from a supervisor, and making a major mistake in solving a complex task problem, may linger in one's head even during work breaks, evenings, weekends, or vacations. While mentally "switching off" from work during off-work hours has been associated with well-being outcomes (Sonnentag et al., 2010), the implication of mentally engaging in or thinking about past stressful work events during off-work hours can be complicated, as it may depend on how one is thinking about them. The present research (a) explores different dimensions or forms of rumination of stressful work events and (b) empirically tests how different forms of rumination of stressful work events relate to employee outcomes. Qualitative and quantitative studies have been designed to address these research questions. Preliminary results suggest that thinking dynamics involved in RSWE may be cyclic (i.e., thinking about an event over and over again in a cyclic manner with no attempt to reflect on the experience), counterfactual (i.e., repetitively thinking about alternative scenarios how an event could have occurred or its alternative outcomes), and/or deliberate (i.e., purposefully thinking about an event to gain closure or to search for greater understanding). In follow-up studies, we expect to show that lack of work detachment does not necessarily lead to detrimental consequences; rather, deliberate rumination of stressful work events can facilitate recovery and learning, enhancing employee well-being.