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Well Recovered and More Creative? A Longitudinal Study on the Relationship Between Vacation and Creativity
Christine J Syrek1, Jessica de Bloom2,3, Dirk Lehr4
1Department of Business Psychology, Bonn Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Rheinbach, Germany.
Frontiers in Psychology
|January 10, 2022
Summary
Employee creativity improves two weeks post-vacation, not immediately. Recovery experiences like mastery boost creativity, while detachment hinders it, offering insights into workplace creativity dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Organizational Behavior
- Human Resource Management
Background:
- Employee creativity is crucial for organizational innovation and success.
- Understanding the temporal dynamics of creativity following restorative breaks is essential.
- The DRAMMA model offers a framework for examining recovery experiences and their impact.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate self-reported employee creativity changes before and after vacation.
- To examine the influence of specific recovery experiences on creativity.
- To explore the delayed effects of vacations on perceived creativity.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study design with four repeated measurements.
- Data collected from 274 white-collar workers.
- Analysis of self-reported creativity and recovery experiences (detachment, relaxation, mastery, meaning, autonomy, affiliation).
Main Results:
- Employee creativity perception increased two weeks after vacation, not immediately.
- Detachment experiences were negatively associated with within-person creativity.
- Mastery experiences explained between-person differences in creativity.
Conclusions:
- Vacations have a delayed positive impact on employee creativity.
- Recovery experiences, particularly mastery, play a significant role in fostering creativity.
- Organizations should consider the timing and nature of recovery to maximize creativity benefits.
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