Research finds 10-minute microbreaks improve employee productivity and alleviate fatigue

If reducing fatigue and injecting more vigour into your work day sounds just like something the doctor ordered, a new scientific analysis recommends 10-minute breaks.

Researchers have undertaken analysis of wellbeing studies to show the powers of microbreaks for work tasks that require less brain power.

“Our results revealed that microbreaks are efficient in preserving high levels of vigor and alleviating fatigue,” a statement from the research team led by Patricia Albulescu said.

The review of 22 studies from the past 30 years found when an employee discontinued a task for periods of 10 minutes or less this habit was generally associated with feeling less tired and improved performance.

The correlation between higher productivity, workforce wellbeing and the practice of taking microbreaks can be used as a potential strategy, the authors suggest.

“All of [the studies] examined the potential benefits of taking microbreaks from assigned tasks. Tasks varied between experiments and included work simulations, real work-related tasks, and non-work-related cognitive tests,” the paper said.

“Tasks varied between experiments and included work simulations, real work-related tasks, and non-work-related cognitive tests.

“Types of breaks varied as well, including physical breaks, relaxing activities, and more engaging activities, such as watching videos.”

According to the meta-analysis, there was a “significant but small effect” among employees who took the 10-minute breaks offered. But in terms of overall work performance, the authors said tasks that were more taxing in nature may require longer breaks to achieve the same benefit.

“No overall association was found between microbreaks and better performance on tasks.

“However, when taking a closer look at the data, the researchers did find that longer breaks tended to be linked to better performance, especially for creative or clerical tasks, but less so for more cognitively demanding tasks.

“The good news is, the longer the break, the greater the boost on performance — so go grab that coffee guilt-free,” a statement from the team said.

More research was needed to investigate the benefits to employees of longer breaks. The Romanian researchers said there was an opportunity for other questions, such as optimal activities to engage in during a microbreak, to also be explored.

The analysis by researchers from the West University of Timioara in Romania was published in PLOS ONE last Thursday.

This article was first published by the The Mandarin.