The present paper presents findings from two studies addressing the effects of the employee’s intention to have rest breaks on rest-break frequency and the change of well-being during a workday.

Rest breaks are effective in avoiding an accumulation of fatigue during work. However, little is known about individual differences in rest-break behavior.

In Study 1, the association between rest-break intention and the daily number of rest breaks recorded over 4 consecutive workdays was determined by generalized linear model in a sample of employees (n = 111, 59% females). In Study 2, professional geriatric nurses (n = 95 females) who worked over two consecutive 12-hour day shifts recorded well-being (fatigue, distress, effort motivation) at the beginning and the end of their shifts. The effect of rest-break intention on the change of well-being was determined by multilevel modeling.

Rest-break intention was positively associated with the frequency of rest breaks (Study 1) and reduced the increase of fatigue and distress over the workday (Study 2).

The results indicate that individual differences account for the number of breaks an employee takes and, as a consequence, for variations in the work-related fatigue and distress.

Strengthening rest-break intentions may help to increase rest-break behavior to avoid the buildup of fatigue and distress over a workday.