Abstract

Vacation plays a critical role in the overall job satisfaction and performance. Do people who cruise more than once a year have an overall higher well-being and happiness? This paper provides a detailed research about people who cruise and those that do not cruise. Besides, researchers tested cruisers overall happiness compared to people who do not cruise. Participants were recruited aboard the Carnival Freedom sailing to Jamaica from Galveston, TX. Results found that happiness and vacation are not related. People who cruise experience short-lived happiness and well-being. The implications for future research will entail pre-vacation, inter-vacation, and after vacation, levels and it will include different types of vacationers.

The Happy Cruiser

Consumers spend four weeks of paid vacation a year traveling (Bloom, Geurts, & Kompier, 2012). However, significant amounts of the population do not utilize their vacation times (du Plessis, 2015). It is my belief that people who travel are happier that those who do not. According to the Effort-Recovery Theory, vacations are imperative to overall job performance (Bloom, Geurts, & Kompier, 2012). In other words, people need efficient recovery time from working. Weekends and non-working hours after work is not enough time. A few studies have shown that in general people who vacate are not significantly more happier than those who do not. Research in the past has focused on winter sports (de Bloom, Geurts, Taris, Sonnentag, de Weerth, & Kompier, 2010). I believe that people who work full-time and cruise more than once a year are more people than people who do not cruise more than once a year. Cruises are economical, and you can choose to have an adventurous cruise or one full or relaxation or a little mixture of both.  For my study, I plan to test if people who cruise more than once a year have an overall higher well- being and happiness.

Method

Participants

For this study, cruisers aboard the Carnival Freedom ship sailing to Jamaica were asked to participate in this study. To be eligible participants had to be actively employed full time. A boat was set up in front of the cruise terminal asking for volunteers. Participants who completed the survey were eligible to win a $200 Carnival gift card they could spend during their trip.

Design

This study is a longitudinal field study. People who cruise more than once a year is the predictor variable and overall well-being/happiness are the measured value. If there is no association between the two variables, then the researcher will conclude that there are no correlations between people who often cruise with happiness. The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between people who often cruise with overall happiness. I hypothesized that the more a person cruises it has a direct relationship with overall well-being. To operationalize overall happiness and well-being, 16 single line questionnaires that measure health status, mood, fatigue, energy level and satisfaction will be evaluated. This method is similar to the way five-point Likert scale measured health and wellness (Nawijn, 2011).

Procedure

Recruitment will begin by contacting companies around the Houston area. The employers will supply their email addresses. They will be sent out from the company asking for participants in exchange for a chance to win a free trip. To qualify participants, initially we will ask the participants:

1. Are they employed full time?
2. Do they utilize their vacation time?
3. How often do they travel?
4. Do they go on cruises?
5. How often do they cruise?
6. Finally, we will do the 16 line questionnaire to determine overall happiness, health, and wellness.

To minimize demand characteristics, a total of 5 questions will be asked to participants using a Likert scale. To control the design confounds, both models in the script will have on the same clothing, and recite the same lines with enthusiasm.

Measures

Two measures will be used in this study. Initially, the scale to determine the confound of attractiveness was determined valid from a short validity study conducted prior to this experiment. Researchers took a picture of the attractive model and unattractive model and randomly asked men during the study if they would date the individual on the picture. More men selected they would date the attractive model. Secondly, the persuasiveness of the attractiveness versus unattractiveness was accessed from the questionnaire.  Results for the attractive model were 56, and the non-attractive model was 33.

Discussion

Ultimately, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between people who cruise often and their overall happiness. The research will determine if the increase in the frequency of trips will increase the overall happiness of an individual. Similarly, it will demonstrate whether more cruises are better for happiness. My hypothesis was that the more a person cruises directly affects his/her overall happiness. Limitations of this study included surveying people on their cruise.

References

Bloom, J., Geurts, S. E., & Kompier, M. J. (2012). Effects of Short Vacations, Vacation Activities and Experiences on Employee Health and Well-Being. Stress & Health: Journal Of The International Society For The Investigation Of Stress, 28(4), 305-318. doi:10.1002/smi.1434

de Bloom, J., Geurts, S. E., Taris, T. W., Sonnentag, S., de Weerth, C., & Kompier, M. J. (2010). Effects of vacation from work on health and well-being: Lots of fun, quickly gone. Work & Stress, 24(2), 196-216. doi:10.1080/02678373.2010.493385

du Plessis, G. (2015). Enjoy your vacation!. Ephemera: Theory & Politics In Organization, 15(4), 755-772.

Nawijn, J. (2011). Happiness Through Vacationing: Just a Temporary Boost or Long-Term Benefits?. Journal Of Happiness Studies, 12(4), 651-665. doi:10.1007/s10902-010-9221-y

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