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Effects of Rest-Break Intention on Rest-Break Frequency and Work-Related Fatigue
Gerhard Blasche1, Sanja Pasalic1, Verena-Maria Bauböck1
1Medical University of Vienna, Austria.
Human Factors
|October 21, 2016
Summary
Employees who intend to take rest breaks take more frequent breaks and experience less fatigue and distress. Strengthening rest-break intentions can improve well-being during the workday.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health Psychology
- Workplace Well-being
- Human Factors
Background:
- Rest breaks are crucial for mitigating work-related fatigue accumulation.
- Individual differences in rest-break behavior remain under-explored.
- Understanding these differences is key to optimizing workplace interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of employees' intention to take rest breaks on break frequency.
- To examine how rest-break intention influences changes in well-being during the workday.
- To identify individual factors affecting rest-break behavior and its consequences.
Main Methods:
- Study 1: Generalized linear model used to assess the association between rest-break intention and daily rest-break frequency in 111 employees over 4 days.
- Study 2: Multilevel modeling analyzed well-being changes (fatigue, distress, effort motivation) in 95 nurses across two 12-hour shifts, examining the effect of rest-break intention.
Main Results:
- A positive association was found between rest-break intention and the frequency of rest breaks taken (Study 1).
- Rest-break intention significantly reduced the increase in fatigue and distress experienced throughout the workday (Study 2).
Conclusions:
- Individual intentions significantly influence rest-break frequency and subsequent variations in workplace fatigue and distress.
- Interventions aimed at strengthening employees' intention to take breaks can enhance rest-break behavior.
- This approach offers a strategy to prevent the buildup of fatigue and distress, promoting better employee well-being.
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