Want to make workers productive – give smartphone breaks
A new study has found that taking a short break to text a friend, play a game or checking a social networking platform like Facebook or Twitter can make a person more productive and happy at the workplace.
The study was conducted by a researcher named Sooyeol Kim from the Kansas State University and it found that employers and businesses that allowed employees to take these ‘micro-breaks’ may benefit from them rather than cause a hindrance to their productivity.
Kim studied 72 full-time workers in various industries and discovered that employees only spent an average of 22 minutes out of an eight-hour workday taking a break on their smartphones. Employees who took these breaks through the day were found to be happier at the end of the workday than those who didn’t.
Says Kim, ‘A smartphone micro-break can be beneficial for both the employee and the organization.’
Kim further elaborates, ‘For example, if I would play a game for an hour during my working hours, it would definitely hurt my work performance. But if I take short breaks of one or two minutes throughout the day, it could provide me with refreshment to do my job.’
The study was conducted by Kim and his collaborators who tailor-made an application for use by the participants. The application was then installed by the 72 study participants on their smartphones and their results recorded.
When companies think of improving productivity, considering giving smartphone breaks may be worthwhile!
