Effects of Participating in a Short-Term Workcation on Psychological and Physiological Responses

This study examines the effects of a short-term workcation on psychological and physiological responses. A group of corporate executives (n = 20) volunteered to participate in a three-day workcation program (WG) along with a control group (n = 20) working on daily jobs at usual office (CG). Psychological responses were obtained three times, namely in the week before the workcation, at the end of the workcation day, and one week after the workcation. The heart rate (HR) was acquired on the first day of the workcation (not on a working day) and the end of next day after remote work. The HR variabilities of the LF/HF ratio and HF values were used to evaluate sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous activities. The results were as follows. The workcation increased positive feelings such as liveliness (WG: 15.8 vs. CG: 11.9, p < .05) and well-being (WG: 15.9 vs. CG: 9.6, p < .05) after the workcation; notably, the heightened sense of liveliness of the WG persisted even after one week (end of workcation: 14.5 vs. after one week: 11.6, p < .05). Furthermore, the workcation appeared to cause relief from the work-related stress that could arise from taking a vacation. The HR (bpm) of the WG increased more than that of the CG after the end of the workcation (WG: 76.1 vs. CG: 67.1, p < .05) and the LF/HF ratio of the WG increased from day off to after work (day off: 2.0 vs. after work: 5.4, p <.05), suggesting that sympathetic activities were heightened and might have increased the performance of work-related activities on the workcation program. These findings indicate that a workcation can produce positive effects on psychological and physiological responses.