Enhancing daily well-being at work through lunchtime park walks and relaxation exercises: Recovery experiences as mediators.

Abstract

Only few studies so far have examined recovery from work during workday breaks. In this intervention study, based on the effort-recovery model and the conservation of resources theory, we examined how to enhance recovery during lunch breaks. More specifically, we examined the within-person effects of lunchtime park walks and relaxation exercises on employees’ levels of concentration, strain, and fatigue experienced at the end of a working day. We moreover tested whether detachment from work and enjoyment experienced during lunch breaks transmitted the effects of these activities to well-being outcomes. Participants in the park walk (n = 51) and relaxation (n = 46) groups were asked to complete a 15-min exercise during their lunch break on 10 consecutive working days. Afternoon well-being, lunchtime detachment, and lunchtime enjoyment were assessed twice a week before, during, and after the intervention, altogether for 5 weeks. Multilevel analysis results showed that park walks at lunchtime were related to better concentration and less fatigue in the afternoon through enjoyment. Relaxation exercises were related to better concentration in the afternoon via detachment. In addition, relaxation exercises were directly linked to lower levels of strain and fatigue in the afternoon. Our study suggests that on days on which employees engage in recovering activities during lunch breaks, they experience higher levels of well-being at the end of a working day. These results add to the theory-based knowledge on recovery during workday breaks and highlight the importance of breaks for organizational practices.

Comparison of rest‐break interventions during a mentally demanding task

“…Less is known about the effects of relaxation on fatigue or vigor. Although some studies did not find relaxation to lead to an increase in energetic arousal (Meier & Welch, ; Saklofske et al, ), relaxation was found to increase vigor and decrease fatigue in other studies (Krajewski, Wieland, & Sauerland, ; Sianoja, Syrek, de Bloom, Korpela, & Kinnunen, ). The results of the present study indicate that a relaxation exercise may lead not to an immediate but to a delayed increase in vigor and decrease in fatigue.…”

Proactive Vitality Management, Work Engagement, and Creativity: The Role of Goal Orientation

“…As proactive vitality management entails individual, goal-oriented behaviour, we propose that individuals may proactively manage their physical and mental energy according to their personal needs and preferences (i.e., how, where, and when). For example, whereas some employees may use mindfulness to manage their physical and cognitive resources so that they are fit for work (Quoidbach, Hansenne, & Mikolajczak, 2010;Kühnel, Zacher, De Bloom, & Bledow, 2016), others may visit a museum to find new inspiration, or take a walk in the park with the intention to change one's psychological state (Sianoja, Syrek, De Bloom, Korpela, & Kinnunen, 2018). These examples refer to differences between individuals in proactive vitality management.…”

What makes for a good break? A diary study on recovery experiences during lunch break

“…Accordingly, the first goal of this study was to find out more about which recovery experiences during a lunch break help employees to feel good in the afternoon. To identify promising experiences, we build our research on the effort recovery model (ER model; Meijman & Mulder, ) and conservation of resources theory (COR; Hobfoll, ), two theories recovery researchers jointly use as theoretical framework for explaining recovery processes (e.g., Sianoja, Syrek, de Bloom, Korpela, & Kinnunen, ; Ten Brummelhuis & Trougakos, ). Furthermore, we extend this framework by incorporating the recovering potential of positive social interactions, possibly contributing to the experience of feeling related to others.…”