The effects of using a multi-modal rest cabin versus a waitlist control on worker well-being: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial

The effects of using a multi-modal rest cabin versus a waitlist control on worker well-being: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The effects of using a multi-modal rest cabin versus a waitlist control on worker well-being: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial Tyler Pacheco, Joel Gagnon, Michelle Khau, Simon Coulombe This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8564851/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Workplace rest cabins are a promising yet understudied approach to supporting worker well-being. This pragmatic randomized controlled trial examined whether a multi-modal rest cabin could improve general and work-related well-being among workers of a Canadian insurance company. Methods Participants were randomly assigned to either a one-month waiting-list control condition or a cabin-use condition. A total of 80 participants were included in the final analytic sample. Surveys were completed at baseline (T0) and again one month later (T1); cabin users also completed follow-up surveys two (T2) and four months (T3) after completing T0. Outcomes included positive and negative affect, depression, anxiety, flourishing, burnout (namely cognitive weariness, emotional exhaustion, and physical fatigue), absenteeism, presenteeism (namely troublesome symptoms at work and impaired productivity), job satisfaction, mindful attention awareness, insomnia, and psychological detachment. Cabin-use frequency was extracted from reservation logs. Linear mixed-effects models evaluated i) differential change between conditions from T0 to T1, ii) maintenance of effects within the experimental group across Times 1 to 3 relative to T0, and iii) whether use frequency was associated with changes in well-being from T0 to T1. Results Compared with the control group, cabin users experienced protective effects against depression, cognitive weariness, and physical fatigue, and marginal protective effects against a deterioration in positive affect and mindful attention awareness. When examining maintenance of effects at follow-ups (versus baseline) in the experimental group, positive affect, cognitive weariness, and mindful attention awareness (marginally) improved at T3, whereas physical fatigue (marginally) improved at each timepoint. Workers who used the rest cabin more frequently experienced improved well-being across multiple indicators (positive affect, physical fatigue, insomnia, impaired productivity, mindful attention awareness); however, those who used the cabin four times in the one month showed greater improvement in physical fatigue, insomnia, and mindful attention awareness. Effects for all other outcomes were neither significant nor trending. Conclusions A multi-modal rest cabin may buffer against declines in well-being and appears to offer accumulating benefits with more sustained use, suggesting usefulness as a personalized micro-break intervention in organizational settings. Trial registration: Retrospectively registered. Registration number: NCT07322354; Date: 2026-01-07. Rest cabins Workplace well-being Micro-breaks Burnout Mindful attention awareness Psychological detachment from work Workplace intervention Employee mental health Recovery at work Pragmatic randomized controlled trial Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8564851","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":573010118,"identity":"e5afc0c7-3ef3-4c17-9683-fbcc1bb4cac1","order_by":0,"name":"Tyler 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","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Rest cabins, Workplace well-being, Micro-breaks, Burnout, Mindful attention awareness, Psychological detachment from work, Workplace intervention, Employee mental health, Recovery at work, Pragmatic randomized controlled trial","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8564851/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8564851/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWorkplace rest cabins are a promising yet understudied approach to supporting worker well-being. This pragmatic randomized controlled trial examined whether a multi-modal rest cabin could improve general and work-related well-being among workers of a Canadian insurance company.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eParticipants were randomly assigned to either a one-month waiting-list control condition or a cabin-use condition. A total of 80 participants were included in the final analytic sample. Surveys were completed at baseline (T0) and again one month later (T1); cabin users also completed follow-up surveys two (T2) and four months (T3) after completing T0. Outcomes included positive and negative affect, depression, anxiety, flourishing, burnout (namely cognitive weariness, emotional exhaustion, and physical fatigue), absenteeism, presenteeism (namely troublesome symptoms at work and impaired productivity), job satisfaction, mindful attention awareness, insomnia, and psychological detachment. Cabin-use frequency was extracted from reservation logs. Linear mixed-effects models evaluated i) differential change between conditions from T0 to T1, ii) maintenance of effects within the experimental group across Times 1 to 3 relative to T0, and iii) whether use frequency was associated with changes in well-being from T0 to T1.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eCompared with the control group, cabin users experienced protective effects against depression, cognitive weariness, and physical fatigue, and marginal protective effects against a deterioration in positive affect and mindful attention awareness. When examining maintenance of effects at follow-ups (versus baseline) in the experimental group, positive affect, cognitive weariness, and mindful attention awareness (marginally) improved at T3, whereas physical fatigue (marginally) improved at each timepoint. Workers who used the rest cabin more frequently experienced improved well-being across multiple indicators (positive affect, physical fatigue, insomnia, impaired productivity, mindful attention awareness); however, those who used the cabin four times in the one month showed greater improvement in physical fatigue, insomnia, and mindful attention awareness. Effects for all other outcomes were neither significant nor trending.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusions\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA multi-modal rest cabin may buffer against declines in well-being and appears to offer accumulating benefits with more sustained use, suggesting usefulness as a personalized micro-break intervention in organizational settings.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eTrial registration:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eRetrospectively registered. 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