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Treat Your Staff
Treat Your Staff

How to get the most out of your breaks

If youโ€™re not one of those workaholics who forego breaks in favour of getting more done, you might wonder how to make the best of a quick escape from your tasks. Two researchers at Baylor University in Texas conducted a study in order to discover the optimum conditions for a work break.

Emily Hunter, PhD and Cindy Wu, PhD surveyed 95 employees of various ages over the course of a five-day workweek, asking them to document their breaks. When they analysed the data, they came up with some ideas for โ€œbetter breaksโ€ that can help both managers and staff members.

Key findings include:
โ€ข The best time for a break is mid-morning. Hunter and Wu found that those who took breaks early in the day reported fewer symptoms of poor health than those who waited until the afternoon.

โ€ข Employees prefer to choose their break activities. Rather than doing something that is assigned to them, the studyโ€™s participants felt more refreshed if they did something they enjoyed.

โ€ข Better breaks lead to improved health and job satisfaction. Those who followed Hunter and Wuโ€™s tips reported better general health โ€“ fewer headaches and a reduction in eyestrain and lower back pain. They also said they felt better about their jobs and experienced a decrease in burnout.

โ€ข Frequent short breaks are better than longer ones. While an exact length of time couldnโ€™t be determined, the research found that those who took more frequent short breaks felt more refreshed throughout the day and recovered more faculties.

Read the results of the study at bit.ly/1NZ9iFF