Well Recovered and More Creative? A Longitudinal Study on the Relationship Between Vacation and Creativity

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The aim of this study was to investigate employees’ self-reported creativity before and after vacation and to examine the impact of recovery experiences (detachment, relaxation, mastery, meaning, autonomy, affiliation) on changes in creativity. The DRAMMA model of Newman et al. provides the theoretical background of our approach. Longitudinal data was assessed with four repeated measurements. The study encompassed data from 274 white-collar workers. Analyses showed that employees subjectively perceive their creativity to benefit not immediately after their vacation but 2 weeks later. Detachment was significantly related to lower creativity within persons, while mastery experiences explained differences in creativity between persons. This study provides a detailed picture of changes in creativity around vacations.

Original languageEnglish
Article number784844
JournalFrontiers in Psychology
Volume12
Number of pages12
ISSN1664-1078
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23.12.2021

Bibliographical note

This study was supported by the Academy of Finland (grant number: 308718). The data were collected as part of a larger data collection funded by the German health insurance company Barmer GEK. The funders did not influence in any way the analysis and presentation of the results or drafting of the manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2021 Syrek, de Bloom and Lehr.

    Research areas

  • changes in creativity, detachment, DRAMMA, holiday, longitudinal, mastery, recovery, vacation
  • Psychology

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