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

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.