Abstract
Background
The objective of this research project is to understand and to improve workers’ recovery from
work stress. Although recovery during lunch breaks is the most common within-workday
break, it has received only minor research attention. Therefore, we will study whether lunch
breaks including a relaxation session or exposure to nature have more favorable outcomes
than usually spent lunch breaks concerning: a) recovery processes, b) health, c) well-being, d)
job performance and e) creativity. We approach recovery by combining the theoretical
frameworks of work and environmental psychology.
Methods/Design
We conduct an intervention study in a sample of 268 knowledge-workers who engage in
different lunch break activities for 15-minutes per day, two weeks in a row. We randomly
assign participants to three experimental conditions: 1) exposure to nature, 2) relaxation and
3) control group (lunch break spent as usual). Online questionnaires before and after the
intervention assess long term changes regarding recovery processes and the major outcome
variables. Before, during and after the intervention, SMS and paper-pencil questionnaires
measure the same constructs four times a day with fewer items. We also measure blood
pressure and collect saliva samples to map cortisol excretion across the intervention period. A
timed experimental task (i.e., the Alternative Uses Task) is used to examine differences in
creativity between the three groups after the intervention period.