Designing Rest Facilities for Promoting Workers' Mental Health: Focusing on Domestic and International Guidelines and Literature Review

Rest facilities serve as an important space for workers to relieve work-related stress and socially interact with co-workers. However, despite its crucial function, many workplace break areas meet only minimal standards and still lack adequate facilities. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the design elements of rest facilities that can promote workers’ mental health by reducing stress and supporting social interaction. For this purpose, both domestic and international guidelines were analyzed to review the current standards. The analysis showed that while domestic guidelines provide detailed recommendations on the physical indoor environment, they lack specific design elements from the perspective of mental health promotion. In addition, provisions commonly found in international guidelines—such as the allocation of seating for vulnerable groups—were not included in domestic guidelines. Based on these findings and literature review, this study re-organizes the guidelines from the perspective of four different components (spatial, environmental, design, and operational elements) that are necessary to promote the worker’s restoration. For each component, detailed elements are provided. The proposed guidelines for rest facilities in the workplace can serve as an effective means that can reduce the negative consequences and enhance the workers’ psychological well-being.