If you are a Business Owner, CEO, Supervisor, or in Management, this post is for you!
I invite you to encourage your team to take breaks as needed and to take a minimum hour for lunch.
The key takeaway is to encourage your employees to use these as mental breaks from work. The common misconception is that more breaks lead to less productivity, the opposite is actually true! Heck, even taking 5-minute breaks every hour or two is shown to boost productivity significantly.
Taking mental breaks - meaning not talking or thinking about work during breaks and lunch will help your team come back mentally, energetically, physically, spiritually, and creatively refreshed and ready to work with clients and problem solve.
Many falsely believe that working through lunch will make you pull ahead of the pack, but research has shown that workplaces and individuals that work through their lunch or don’t take breaks are indicative of high levels of burnout or are rated as poor work environments.
All businesses can get stressed. Taking work breaks is not a luxury but a necessity for a successful team, company, and what’s best for the clients! Your encouragement will also make you a greater leader!
Want to offer more support to your team? Offer Beautiful Life Health & Wellness Group Wellness Chats or Group Yoga Programs for your business! Book a BLHW business or corporate wellness consult ASAP!
We love helping teams run at their highest potential!
References
Coffeng, J. K., van Sluijs, E. M., Hendriksen, I. J. M., van Mechelen, W., & Boot, C. R. L. (2015). Physical activity and relaxation during and after work are independently associated with the need for recovery. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 12(1), 109–115. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2012-0452
Engelmann, C., Schneider, M., Kirschbaum, C., Grote, G., Dingemann, J., Schoof, S., & Ure, B. M. (2010). Effects of intraoperative breaks on mental and somatic operator fatigue: A randomized clinical trial. Surgical Endoscopy, 25(4), 1245–1250. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-010-1350-1
Kim, S., Park, Y., & Headrick, L. (2018). Daily micro-breaks and job performance: General work engagement as a cross-level moderator. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(7), 772–786. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000308
Lu, J. G., Akinola, M., & Mason, M. F. (2017). “switching on” creativity: Task switching can increase creativity by reducing cognitive fixation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 139, 63–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2017.01.005
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "Brief diversions vastly improve focus, researchers find." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 8 February 2011. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110208131529.htm>.