Clinical trial NCT05830656: Hybrid- Nature: Recovering From Work Through Nature Experiences
Official title: Recovering From Work Through Nature Experiences - Heading to the Forest or a Virtual Forest?
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Physiological Recovery
Psychological Recovery
Restorative Experiences
Keywords: Recovery
Nature
Employees
Work stress
Occupational well-being
Virtual Reality
Lead sponsor: JAMK University Of Applied Sciences
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2023-04-26
Enrollment: 57
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The research examines employees' recovery from work stress during visits in nearby nature and when viewing virtual nature with Virtual Reality (VR) goggles. The research provides information on the physiological and psychological recovery of employees who do remote or hybrid work. Recovery is analysed with qualitative and quantitative methods including Firstbeat Life measurements, surveys and interviews. The results can be used in workplaces to develop operating models to promote well-being in remote and hybrid work. The research generates new understanding on how employees' recovery can be supported by means of virtual nature tourism services.

Detailed description: An intervention study with a cross-over research design will be conducted among a sample of 60 employees who do remote or hybrid work. The intervention phase lasts in total of four weeks. During the first week (control phase), the participants continue their daily routine as normal. During the second week of the intervention, a half of the participants are randomised to visit a nearby natural area after finishing work (exposure to nearby nature). The other half of the participants are randomised to view virtual nature videos with VR goggles after finishing work (exposure to virtual nature). On the third week of the intervention, the participants complete nature exposure the other way around. That is, those participants who took part first in exposure to nearby nature will view virtual nature, and vice versa. On the fourth week of the intervention, the participants take part in a semi-structured focus group interview.

Recovering from work in nearby nature and virtual nature is examined through multidisciplinary perspectives of health, well-being, and tourism. The aim of the research is to find new ways of promoting work stress recovery, psychological detachment and restoration among employees when they are making the transition between work time and personal time. These research findings are particularly relevant for fields in which there has been a growing trend for remote or hybrid work. This research is funded by the Finnish Work Environment Fund (Project Number: 220076).

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Employees who do remote or hybrid work
* Able to communicate adequately in Finnish in order to participate

Exclusion Criteria:

* No exclusion criteria for study participation.
* Firstbeat Life analyses are only available for participants who identify themselves on the basis of biological sex of female or male.
* Firstbeat Life analyses might be unreliable for participants with some health-related issues (e.g., pacemaker, heart transplantation, complex cardiac disease, persistent atrial fibrillation or flutter, or uncontrolled thyroid disease) and therefore measurements will not be performed for them as a part of this research.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Psychological recovery
timeFrame: Three weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Restorative experiences
timeFrame: Three weeks
measure: Work engagement
timeFrame: Three weeks
measure: Burnout
timeFrame: Three weeks
measure: Stress recovery
timeFrame: Three weeks
measure: Sleep quality
timeFrame: Three weeks
measure: Relax-Stress Intensity
timeFrame: Three weeks
measure: Body resources
timeFrame: Three weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Jyväskylä
country: Finland
facility: JAMK University of Applied Sciences
Study officials:
affiliation: JAMK University Of Applied Sciences
name: Katriina Hyvönen, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: