How Nature Can Nurture: Examining the Role of Environment Naturalness in Recovery During Work Breaks

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Kavanagh, K. (2023). How Nature Can Nurture: Examining the Role of Environment Naturalness in Recovery During Work Breaks. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

Work stress recovery is critical to employee health, wellbeing, and engagement, but our understanding of how recovery unfolds during work breaks and in different environments is incomplete. Based on theories of recovery from occupational health psychology and environmental psychology, the current study examines the role of break environment naturalness in the recovery process during work breaks. Specifically, I use a within-person diary design to test whether environment naturalness relates to experiencing psychological detachment, relaxation, and enjoyment during breaks, as well as post-break recovery outcomes (recovery state and strain) and afternoon outcomes (performance capacity and positive affect). I further investigate the indirect effect of naturalness on post-break and afternoon outcomes via break experiences, as well the between-persons relationships between recovery outcomes and work engagement and burnout at the end of the two-week study period. Data were collected from 112 working adults who responded to three daily surveys across 10 workdays. Findings suggest break environment naturalness has a direct effect on relaxation and enjoyment during breaks, as well as post-break recovery state. Naturalness is also indirectly related to post-break recovery state and strain via break relaxation and enjoyment. Results support certain theories of recovery across disciplines, and provide evidence for the role of natural environments in promoting recovery during the workday.

Details
Author

Kavanagh, Kathryn

Title

How Nature Can Nurture: Examining the Role of Environment Naturalness in Recovery During Work Breaks

Physical Description

1 online resource (191 pages) : PDF

Date

2023

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

Work stress recovery is critical to employee health, wellbeing, and engagement, but our understanding of how recovery unfolds during work breaks and in different environments is incomplete. Based on theories of recovery from occupational health psychology and environmental psychology, the current study examines the role of break environment naturalness in the recovery process during work breaks. Specifically, I use a within-person diary design to test whether environment naturalness relates to experiencing psychological detachment, relaxation, and enjoyment during breaks, as well as post-break recovery outcomes (recovery state and strain) and afternoon outcomes (performance capacity and positive affect). I further investigate the indirect effect of naturalness on post-break and afternoon outcomes via break experiences, as well the between-persons relationships between recovery outcomes and work engagement and burnout at the end of the two-week study period. Data were collected from 112 working adults who responded to three daily surveys across 10 workdays. Findings suggest break environment naturalness has a direct effect on relaxation and enjoyment during breaks, as well as post-break recovery state. Naturalness is also indirectly related to post-break recovery state and strain via break relaxation and enjoyment. Results support certain theories of recovery across disciplines, and provide evidence for the role of natural environments in promoting recovery during the workday.

Genre

doctoral dissertations

Subjects--Topics

Psychology

Degree

Ph.D.

Keywords

Natural Environment
Nature
Stress Recovery
Work Break
Work Recovery

Subject Area

Organizational Science

Advisor(s)

Shanock, Linda

Degree Note

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2023.

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Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Kavanagh_uncc_0694D_13443

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:3303