Breaks at Works: Creating a Pro-Break Culture in Your Workplace
By Kati Ryan
Anne Lamott said it best: “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
Taking a break, unplugging, and taking calculated time to refresh will always have you coming back feeling better and recharged. In an organization, it’s important to create a culture where your team feels like breaks are encouraged and accepted. Below are reasons why breaks are important, a couple easy ways to foster that culture, and 18 simple break ideas to share with your team to spark that “pro-break culture.”
3 Big Reasons Breaks at Work Are Important
You know that taking breaks at work is important. But do you know why? Here are three important reasons why you need to shut down once in a while to keep going.
- Preventing Burnout and Improving Work-life Balance: Burnout is a real thing and will abruptly turnover your employees. “Burnout, the chronic depletion of physical, mental, and emotional reserves, affects 96% of leaders and costs American companies $190 billion each year,” according to Daniel Turissini, founder of Recharj, a Shark Tank-featured nap and meditation studio. “The latest neuroscience research confirms that working in short, focused bursts with time built in for restorative and contemplative activities, such as a power nap or meditation, dramatically improves performance and helps avoid burnout.” In short, when your team can take breaks at work, it helps them stay sane.
- Increased Productivity: This may seem counterintuitive. More work time means work output, right? But that’s not the case. Taking breaks will increase overall productivity in your team, and in turn within the business. In some organizations this is easier than others. Frank Frisbie, Head of Sales at Blisplay says, “I know of some companies that try to squeeze sales activities into every minute of the workday. They have high turnover, friction between employees, and are less productive over time. I’ve found that taking regular breaks during the workday are an essential part of ensuring success, as they ensure work/life balance and happy employees. Happy employees are productive employees.”
- Brain Breaks = Better Ideas: Creating “space” for reflection and processing is key to generating those big ideas. “I am halfway through a 10-week User Experience Design Course,” reflects Graham Fleming, a UX Design Fellow at General Assembly. “Breaks are so very vital, as we are in the classroom nine to five, Monday through Friday and putting in extra time in the evenings, over the weekend and early in the morning. I’ve noticed I have ‘Aha moments’ or breakthroughs following a break. They typically happen when I return to a problem or design challenge.”
4 Easy Ways to Encourage Breaks at Work
So what can you do to foster a healthy culture of taking breaks at your workplace? Here are four ways to encourage breaks within your organization.
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