The effects of rehabilitation center employees on the happiness and quality of life in participation in recreational activities

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of the rehabilitation center employees in Muğla, Fethiye, on the happiness and quality of life. A total of 122 staff (66.4% women, 33.6% men) participated in the study voluntarily. As a data collection tool in the research; (1) descriptive information form (gender, age, marital status, duty and income status of staff), (2) Oxford Happiness Scale (OHS) developed by Hills and Argyle (2002) and adapted to Turkish by Doğan and Akıncı Çötok (2011), (3) Life Quality Scale developed by Kim, Woo, and Uysal (2015) and (4) recreational activity list were used. The face-to-face interview method was used in answering the questionnaire forms by the employees. The data obtained; showed that the rehabilitation center staff preferred the most intellectual activities (4.16 ± 0.84) from the recreational activities and the least preferred activities (2.68 ± 1.15). When analyzed by the gender variable, the participation rate of women in recreation activities (= 3.46 ± 0.6) was found higher than men (= 3.15) (p = 0.016). According to the results of the regression analysis, a positive relationship was found between the participants' participation in recreational activities and happiness (t = 4,195; p <0.001). The relationship between participants' participation in recreational activities and quality of life was not significant (p> 0.05). It is important for the staff working in rehabilitation centers to feel happy and have a high quality of life in order to be able to communicate and provide health services to individuals with mental and physical disabilities. In this sense, different possibilities should be offered to evaluate their free time outside the work with appropriate recreational activities.