OBJECTIVES: The present paper presents findings from two studies addressing the effects of the employee's intention to have rest breaks on rest-break frequency and the change of well-being during a workday. BACKGROUND: Rest breaks are effective in avoiding an accumulation of fatigue during work. However, little is known about individual differences in rest-break behavior. METHOD: In Study 1, the association between rest-break intention and the daily number of rest breaks recorded over 4 consecutive workdays was determined by generalized linear model in a sample of employees ( n = 111, 59% females). In Study 2, professional geriatric nurses ( n = 95 females) who worked over two consecutive 12-hour day shifts recorded well-being (fatigue, distress, effort motivation) at the beginning and the end of their shifts. The effect of rest-break intention on the change of well-being was determined by multilevel modeling. RESULTS: Rest-break intention was positively associated with the frequency of rest breaks (Study 1) and reduced the increase of fatigue and distress over the workday (Study 2). CONCLUSION: The results indicate that individual differences account for the number of breaks an employee takes and, as a consequence, for variations in the work-related fatigue and distress. APPLICATION: Strengthening rest-break intentions may help to increase rest-break behavior to avoid the buildup of fatigue and distress over a workday.
OBJECTIVES: The present paper presents findings from two studies addressing the effects of the employee's intention to have rest breaks on rest-break frequency and the change of well-being during a workday. BACKGROUND: Rest breaks are effective in avoiding an accumulation of fatigue during work. However, little is known about individual differences in rest-break behavior. METHOD: In Study 1, the association between rest-break intention and the daily number of rest breaks recorded over 4 consecutive workdays was determined by generalized linear model in a sample of employees ( n = 111, 59% females). In Study 2, professional geriatric nurses ( n = 95 females) who worked over two consecutive 12-hour day shifts recorded well-being (fatigue, distress, effort motivation) at the beginning and the end of their shifts. The effect of rest-break intention on the change of well-being was determined by multilevel modeling. RESULTS: Rest-break intention was positively associated with the frequency of rest breaks (Study 1) and reduced the increase of fatigue and distress over the workday (Study 2). CONCLUSION: The results indicate that individual differences account for the number of breaks an employee takes and, as a consequence, for variations in the work-related fatigue and distress. APPLICATION: Strengthening rest-break intentions may help to increase rest-break behavior to avoid the buildup of fatigue and distress over a workday.
Entities:
Keywords:
distress; individual differences; intention; recovery from work; rest breaks
Authors: M K Buller; E P Bettinghaus; L Fluharty; P A Andersen; M D Slater; K L Henry; X Liu; S Fullmer; D B Buller Journal: Health Educ Res Date: 2019-04-01
Authors: Natascha Mojtahedzadeh; Elisabeth Rohwer; Felix Alexander Neumann; Albert Nienhaus; Matthias Augustin; Birgit-Christiane Zyriax; Volker Harth; Stefanie Mache Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-06-01 Impact factor: 3.390