Step Away from the Computer
I attended an online conference last week on Happiness hosted by The Atlantic. (You can check that out here.) They have a regular column called How to Build a Life that’s all about how to increase your feelings of (and acceptance of) happiness in daily life. As I was perusing some older columns from last year, I came across one that seems to fit well with this blog. It purports to share the ideal work to break-time ratio. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/09/science-tells-you-how-many-minutes-should-you-take-a-break-for-work-17/380369/
If you don’t want to read the whole article (though it is brief), the short answer is that the most productive employees work for 52 consecutive minutes and then take a 17-minute break (coffee, chat with a coworker, bathroom run, whatever – as long as it’s away from the computer). I assume the study averaged those numbers rather than each person keeping to an exact 52/17 schedule. The research also focused only on knowledge (desk) workers, so it’s unclear whether that ratio would hold for physical laborers. However, I believe the key point would.
We’re not meant to work non-stop for eight hours (or more) a day. Our brains (and bodies) need a break from the mental (and physical) work of… well, work. When we can step away from our duties and fully recharge, we come back refreshed and ready to go. The study referenced above (from 2014) notes that workers who took those breaks had more accurate work. We make fewer mistakes (do a better job) in addition to being in a better mood.
So don’t feel badly if you need to step away from your desk (or other project) for a few minutes. Or a few days! Vacations have also proven important to reenergizing us mentally and physically. It’s good for our work to take a break. We need to recharge so we can do and be our best.
How can you encourage your workers to take regular breaks to recharge?
In what ways are you role modeling the importance of taking breaks – and vacations?
Which workers in your organization have a harder time stepping away? What do they need from you in order to be able to do so on a regular basis?