Other Titles
Rapid Presentation Round
Abstract
Research has shown that 33% (Ibrahim, 2022) of nurse's experience depression and posttraumatic stress within their job and that rate continues to grow each year. A member of the team survey sent out to all staff at an acute care hospital in Virginia Beach, Virginia, showed that staff members could not decompress emotionally and physically after their shifts. Staff members expressly indicated they could not leave work at work and continued thinking about work when they were at home. Literature has shown that implementing a decompression space to allow staff members to decompress away from clinical areas promotes staff resiliency, supports self-care, and increases staff engagement. A mixed-method study design, including staff surveys and digital entry tracking, was utilized to evaluate the impact of a dedicated space for staff to emotionally and physically decompress away from clinical areas in an acute care hospital on staff well-being and resiliency. The space was designed with input from staff using an internal survey to identify staff choices for name, colors, and all other aspects of the space. The “Zen Den” includes two rooms: one room for activities such as yoga with a water feature and a second room with a water feature and four massage chairs. After implementing the Zen Den, staff were asked to complete a second member of the team survey, and any changes in staff member responses were analyzed. Tracking of entry into the Zen Den was used to provide data on the number of times the Zen Den was utilized daily, which specialties utilized the Zen Den the most, and whether there was an increase in Zen Den usage after critical events such as trauma, code blues, and medical response calls. Chi-squared test and student’s t-test statistics were used to analyze differences where appropriate. Non-parametric tests were used for data not normally distributed. The Zen Den was utilized by more than 14% of hospital staff members each week, with more than 250 visits recorded each week for the first eight weeks the Zen Den was open. The frequency of Zen Den visits was highest on Thursdays and Fridays between noon and 2pm. The results of this study show the significant impact of dedicated spaces readily accessible within a hospital setting in reducing staff stress, anxiety, and burnout.
Notes
References:
Ibrahim, K., Komariah, M., and Herliani, Y. K. (2022). The effect of mindfulness breathing meditation on psychological well-being: A quasi-experimental study among nurses working for COVID-19 patients. https://doi.org/10.1097/HNP.0000000000000464
Meier, A., Erickson, J. I., Snow, N., and Kline, M. (2019). Nurse and Patient Satisfaction. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0000000000000814
Gordon, D. L., Nitorreda, M. V., Jacolbe, F. V., and Sinclair- Chung, O. (2023). Compassion, collaboration, and community strategies for staff well-being. https://doi.org/10.1097/nmg.0000000000000024
Atay, N., Sahin, G., and Buzlu S. (2021). The relationship between psychological resilience and professional quality of life in nurses. https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20210218-01
Mo, X., Qin, Q., Fengji, L. H., Tang, Y., Cheng, Q., and Wen, Y. (2021). Effects of breathing meditation training on sustained attention level, mindfulness, attention awareness level, and mental state of operating room nurses. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.45.6.4
Phillips, K. Knowlton, M., and Riseden, J. (2022). Emergency department nursing burnout and resilience. https://doi.org/10.1097/TME.0000000000000391
Sawyer, A., Baile, A., Green J., Sun, J., and Robinson, P. (2023). Resilience, insight, self-compassion, and empowerment (RISE). https://doi.org/10.1177/10783903211033338
Sigma Membership
Psi Upsilon
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Psychological Burnout, Psychological Resilience, Employee Health Promotion, Employee Well-being, Burnout, Dedicated Spaces
Recommended Citation
Richendollar, Karen and Herring, Caren E., "Keeping It Zen: In-Hospital Decompression Space for Employee Resiliency" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 10.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2024/presentations_2024/10
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2024
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-02-12
Keeping It Zen: In-Hospital Decompression Space for Employee Resiliency
Washington, DC, USA
Research has shown that 33% (Ibrahim, 2022) of nurse's experience depression and posttraumatic stress within their job and that rate continues to grow each year. A member of the team survey sent out to all staff at an acute care hospital in Virginia Beach, Virginia, showed that staff members could not decompress emotionally and physically after their shifts. Staff members expressly indicated they could not leave work at work and continued thinking about work when they were at home. Literature has shown that implementing a decompression space to allow staff members to decompress away from clinical areas promotes staff resiliency, supports self-care, and increases staff engagement. A mixed-method study design, including staff surveys and digital entry tracking, was utilized to evaluate the impact of a dedicated space for staff to emotionally and physically decompress away from clinical areas in an acute care hospital on staff well-being and resiliency. The space was designed with input from staff using an internal survey to identify staff choices for name, colors, and all other aspects of the space. The “Zen Den” includes two rooms: one room for activities such as yoga with a water feature and a second room with a water feature and four massage chairs. After implementing the Zen Den, staff were asked to complete a second member of the team survey, and any changes in staff member responses were analyzed. Tracking of entry into the Zen Den was used to provide data on the number of times the Zen Den was utilized daily, which specialties utilized the Zen Den the most, and whether there was an increase in Zen Den usage after critical events such as trauma, code blues, and medical response calls. Chi-squared test and student’s t-test statistics were used to analyze differences where appropriate. Non-parametric tests were used for data not normally distributed. The Zen Den was utilized by more than 14% of hospital staff members each week, with more than 250 visits recorded each week for the first eight weeks the Zen Den was open. The frequency of Zen Den visits was highest on Thursdays and Fridays between noon and 2pm. The results of this study show the significant impact of dedicated spaces readily accessible within a hospital setting in reducing staff stress, anxiety, and burnout.
Description
Implementation of a decompression space at an acute care hospital in Virginia Beach, Virginia to allow for employees to mentally and physically decompress away from clinical areas to improve staff moral and decrease burn-out.