ABSTRACT
Respites have emerged as a complex, multifaceted phenomenon. Over four decades, respite research has attempted to delineate the influence of different types of respite upon stress and burnout. Factors and moderators ranging from personal to vocational and situational variables, as well as vacation-specific variables revealed a plethora of future avenues for research in order to optimize the respite’s beneficial influences of employees and their families or co-workers. This chapter describes the general findings of respite research and its potential for recovery through different coping mechanisms, as well as the significance of social and organizational support. It offers specific guidelines and steps that may be taken before, during, and after the respite for maximizing the respite effect. Our research suggests that the question holding most value as key to the beneficial respite effect is that of the interaction or fit between respite characteristics and persona characteristics. Shedding further light on this question is likely to be extremely constructive in terms of implementation both organizationally and individually.
