“Let’s have a break”: An experimental comparison of work-break interventions and their impact on performance

Singh, Usha; Ghadiri, Argang; Weimar, Daniel; Prinz, Joachim

doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.03.008

Cited by 7 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…For instance, issues like screen fatigue, asthenopia, and insomnia are often attributed to increased screen use [19]. To deal with this issue, experts recommend taking frequent microbreaks from and after continuous work for recovery [12,61].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the outset, microbreaks could appear as a potential disruption to the ongoing work activity. However, studies have shown that microbreaks are, in fact, helpful to restore focus [34,61] and self-initiated micro-breaks can provide the necessary disengagement from work just in time of need, and can contribute to one's well being, performance and recovery [35,62].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Designing for Microbreaks: Unpacking the Design Journey of Zenscape

Khot

Aggarwal

2022

Sixteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction

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This research aims to support positive wellbeing by encouraging people to take regular microbreaks from continuous on-screen work. We present Zenscape, an innovative tangible system that offers subtle reminders to engage in non-work related creative micro activities, through the stirring water action and sound. Zenscape integrates the ideologies of the Zen garden philosophy in its design and features a mini Zen garden consisting of sand and stones, and a water cup with a stirrer, all offering multiple micro activities for the user to get an escape from their work. Unlike time management apps, we do not target productivity, but rather focus on making the most of the microbreaks. We present a descriptive account of how we brought Zenscape into being through a conceptual framing of Diversion, Destination, Play and Return. We hope that our design reflections will inspire future systems on microbreaks beyond reminder and notification systems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing for Microbreaks: Unpacking the Design Journey of Zenscape

Khot

Aggarwal

2022

Sixteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction

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“…Results indicated positive tendencies in general, but significant results regarding audiovisual stimulation could not be obtained [ 36 ]. In another study, Singh and colleagues [ 37 ] used a laboratory pre-test-post-test design to compare rest-break interventions. Results showed significant improvements in performance and subjective well-being (stress, recovery etc.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Results showed significant improvements in performance and subjective well-being (stress, recovery etc.) after using audiovisual stimulation compared to the intervention condition of napping [ 37 ]. Nonetheless, existing studies on audiovisual stimulation in the field of WHP show different weaknesses due to the experimental design of the studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nonetheless, existing studies on audiovisual stimulation in the field of WHP show different weaknesses due to the experimental design of the studies. First, the studies only have small sample sizes of under 20 participants [ 35 , 36 , 37 ]. Second, research has been undertaken in a laboratory setting, which might have influenced detachment from work during the rest breaks and thus the final results [ 35 , 36 , 37 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Associations between Health Education and Mental Health, Burnout, and Work Engagement by Application of Audiovisual Stimulation

Ghadiri

Sturz

Mohajerzad

2022

IJERPH

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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, health education programs and workplace health promotion (WHP) could only be offered under difficult conditions, if at all. In Germany for example, mandatory lockdowns, working from home, and physical distancing have led to a sharp decline in expenditure on prevention and health promotion from 2019 to 2020. At the same time, the pandemic has negatively affected many people’s mental health. Therefore, our goal was to examine audiovisual stimulation as a possible measure in the context of WHP, because its usage is contact-free, time flexible, and offers, additionally, voice-guided health education programs. In an online survey following a cross-sectional single case study design with 393 study participants, we examined the associations between audiovisual stimulation and mental health, work engagement, and burnout. Using multiple regression analyses, we could identify positive associations between audiovisual stimulation and mental health, burnout, and work engagement. However, longitudinal data are needed to further investigate causal mechanisms between mental health and the use of audiovisual stimulation. Nevertheless, especially with regard to the pandemic, audiovisual stimulation may represent a promising measure for improving mental health at the workplace.

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Interruptions in Remote Work: a Resource-based Model of Work and Family Stress

et al. 2022

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We use the conservation of resources (COR) theory to propose a work-family model of stress in remote work. We propose that interruptions from family are a unique hindrance stressor, detrimental for the employee’s challenge and hindrance stress responses in remote work, which, in turn, have distinct effects on resource-oriented attitudes and states of both the employee and spouse. Namely, we expect that both partners’ satisfaction with the work arrangement, employee engagement, and spouse family overload will be associated with the way the employee experiences stress in remote work (stress response). We also integrate the effort-recovery model to examine whether two types of breaks taken by employees while working remotely replenish resources lost through interruptions. Using a sample of 391 couples, we find support for all hypotheses that pertain to the employee. Findings involving the spouse support the primacy of the resource loss tenet in COR theory, in that these detrimental effects are significant in crossing over to the spouse via hindrance but are not significant via challenge stress. We discuss the implications of these findings, emphasizing that interruptions are harmful for both types of stress experienced by remote employees (i.e., lower “good” and higher “bad” stress responses), and interruptions appear to have far-reaching effects on both partners. However, choosing to use breaks for both nonwork goals and self-care can buffer these otherwise detrimental effects.

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“Let’s have a break”: An experimental comparison of work-break interventions and their impact on performance

Cited by 7 publications

References 46 publications

Designing for Microbreaks: Unpacking the Design Journey of Zenscape

Designing for Microbreaks: Unpacking the Design Journey of Zenscape

Associations between Health Education and Mental Health, Burnout, and Work Engagement by Application of Audiovisual Stimulation

Interruptions in Remote Work: a Resource-based Model of Work and Family Stress

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