Short Vacation Improves Stress-Level and Well-Being in German-Speaking Middle-Managers—A Randomized Controlled Trial

Blank, Cornelia; Gatterer, Katharina; Leichtfried, Veronika; Pollhammer, Doris; Mair-Raggautz, Maria; Duschek, Stefan; Humpeler, Egon; Schobersberger, Wolfgang

doi:10.3390/ijerph15010130

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Short Vacation Improves Stress-Level and Well-Being in German-Speaking Middle-Managers—A Randomized Controlled Trial

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Wolfgang Schobersberger

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Department of Psychology and Medical Sciences, Institute of Sports Medicine, Alpine Medicine & Health Tourism, UMIT, 6060 Hall in Tirol, Austria

Department of Psychology and Medical Sciences, Institute of Psychology, UMIT, 6060 Hall in Tirol, Austria

IHS Forschungsinstitut für Urlaubs- und Freizeitmedizin Sowie Gesundheitstourimsus, 6900 Bregenz, Austria

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Institute of Sports Medicine, Alpine Medicine & Health Tourism, Tirol Kliniken GmbH, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(1), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010130

Received: 17 November 2017 / Revised: 20 December 2017 / Accepted: 11 January 2018 / Published: 13 January 2018

(This article belongs to the Section Health Behavior, Chronic Disease and Health Promotion)

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Abstract

Stress in the work place has a detrimental effect on people’s health. Sufficient recovery is necessary to counteract severe chronic negative load reactions. Previous research has shown that vacationing for at least seven consecutive days provided an efficient recovery strategy. Yet, thus far, the effects of short vacations and the mode of vacation (whether at home or in a new environment) have rarely been studied. We investigated the immediate and long-term effects of a short vacation (four nights) on well-being and perceived stress and whether the mode of vacation impacted on these results. Data was obtained from 40 middle managers (67.5% men and 32.5% women). The intervention group (n = 20) spent a short vacation in a hotel outside their usual environment. The control group (n = 20) spent their vacation at home. Results indicated that one single short-term vacation, independent of the mode, has large, positive and immediate effects on perceived stress, recovery, strain, and well-being. Strain levels decreased to a greater extent in the intervention group compared to the control group. The effects can still be detected at 30 days (recovery) and 45 days (well-being and strain) post-vacation. Encouraging middle management employees to take short vacations seems to be an efficient health promotion strategy; environmental effects seem to play a minor role. View Full-Text

Keywords: Health Tourism; well-being; recovery; middle management

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Blank, C.; Gatterer, K.; Leichtfried, V.; Pollhammer, D.; Mair-Raggautz, M.; Duschek, S.; Humpeler, E.; Schobersberger, W. Short Vacation Improves Stress-Level and Well-Being in German-Speaking Middle-Managers—A Randomized Controlled Trial. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 130. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010130

AMA Style

Blank C, Gatterer K, Leichtfried V, Pollhammer D, Mair-Raggautz M, Duschek S, Humpeler E, Schobersberger W. Short Vacation Improves Stress-Level and Well-Being in German-Speaking Middle-Managers—A Randomized Controlled Trial. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2018; 15(1):130. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010130

Chicago/Turabian Style

Blank, Cornelia, Katharina Gatterer, Veronika Leichtfried, Doris Pollhammer, Maria Mair-Raggautz, Stefan Duschek, Egon Humpeler, and Wolfgang Schobersberger. 2018. "Short Vacation Improves Stress-Level and Well-Being in German-Speaking Middle-Managers—A Randomized Controlled Trial" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, no. 1: 130. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010130

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Short Vacation Improves Stress-Level and Well-Being in German-Speaking Middle-Managers—A Randomized Controlled Trial

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