The Effect of a Rejuvenation Room on Reducing Subjective Workplace Stress Reported by Clinical Staff

Sitzer, Verna A.

Wednesday, 24 July 2013: 2:10 PM

Verna A. Sitzer, MN, RN, CNS
Nursing, Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego, CA

Learning Objective 1: Identify instruments that can measure subjective workplace stress in clinical staff.

Learning Objective 2: Describe a simple intervention that can reduce subjective workplace stress in clinical staff.

Purpose:

Clinical staff report experiencing work related stress due to a number of stressors. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a “rejuvenation room” in reducing reported work stress in clinical staff.

Methods:

A convenience sample of clinical staff self-selected to spend 10 minutes in a rejuvenation room (featuring comfortable seating and a nature scene) and complete a demographic survey, pre-intervention and post-intervention instrument consisting of Motowidlo's subjective stress scale, a self-developed stress level scale (SDSLS) and survey to measure feelings and satisfaction with the rejuvenation room.

Results:

Forty-five clinical staff participated in the study. Participants were clinical nurses (42%) with an average of 4.65 years in their role (SD = 2.03), mostly female (82%), with a mean age of 38.62 years (SD = 11.70) who worked in their unit for two years (51%). A statistically significant difference between participants’ preSDSLS score (M = 2.87, SE = .117) and postSDSLS score (M = 1.71, SE = .117), t (44) = 10.985, p < .001 resulted with participants having lower stress level scores after ten minutes in the rejuvenation room. An increased feeling of a great deal of stress due to one’s job and always being stressed at work was associated with an increased stress level at the moment (pre-rejuvenation room). Decreased stress levels following ten minutes in the rejuvenation room were associated with increased feelings of being refreshed and increased satisfaction with the rejuvenation room in reducing stress.

Conclusion:

Sitting for 10 minutes in a simple room with a nature scene, sounds of nature, subdued lighting, and comfortable setting can be effective in reducing subjective work stress in clinical staff. With the many stressors clinical staff face on the job, this low cost, high impact room is a strategy employers should consider implementing to rejuvenate their staff.

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