Should there be a break for quality work?
“Break'' is the most favorite word both for students and employees. Apart from this, in a general way we can say break is the need for every human being. If we talk in a general perspective, in the term of some common human being, he/she needs a break to get away from the regular routine of life. From the employee’s point of view, should there be a shift break for quality work? Do shift breaks really work in the production of quality work? Let’s discuss:
The office timings are usually scheduled from 9am to 5pm which is equal to eight hours. The working days are mostly five days in a week, and employees have to follow this schedule.
Types of break
There are different types of breaks in the offices depending upon the type of work.
There are three types of breaks
- At work
The break given at work is for 20 minutes when employees work for six hours a day
- Between shift
This break is given to employees for about 11 hours rest between working days.
- In a week
This break is given by the company to their employees of 24 hours and 48 hours in a week without any work.
Condition of break
The time frame for break is the decision of the company. Some are too strict and allow twenty minutes and some give more. There are certain conditions under which breaks are given to employees by the higher authorities in the offices.
- At the mid of the day
- The break is given to the employees during working hours at some point in the day, not at the beginning and at the end.
- All allowed to leave their desk or work station
Effects of the break on employees and the company’s performance
Break affects a lot of physical and mental health of people. It’s natural and normal that no human body can sit somewhere for a long time. In this situation, your mind doesn’t work properly, and you’ll feel tired and stressed. So for the ending of these issues, breaks are allowed in the offices for the physical and mental health of people. The break for the employees in the offices brings these revolutionary changes: It makes your employees happy, active, and satisfied with their jobs. During break they move here and there, make a phone call, talk to friends, go for a small walk or surf social media. When they have a good time, they eat properly and avoid eating junk food because of limited break time or no break. The employee’s concentration and focus increases.
The break is not only beneficial for employees, but it also gives advantages to the higher authorities as job satisfaction leads to increased productivity in the workplace, morale of the team and job retention.
Break improves the physical wellbeing of people in the following way:
- It reduces the strain on the bottom, thigh, neck and shoulders
- It relax your lower back, wrist and fingers
- It reduces the stress on the eye which develops on being completely sitting in front of the computer
Effects of continuous working
If breaks are not given during office hours, then do you know what happened? It will cause common office-related injuries. These include different mental health problems such as anxiety attacks, nervous breakdown, stress, burnouts (It is a state in which a person suffers from serious physical, mental and emotional exhaustion due to the burden of work) and different mild cognitive problems.
So to get rid of these above-mentioned problems, it will be better to go out and make some changes for yourself mentally. The employee can do other things as well for refreshing themselves like:
- Go and make coffee
- While sitting in your chair, stretch your body to relax yourself
- Look after the office plants and water them
- Clean up your desk and arrange the things properly if they get messy during work
Human mind never focuses on anything for a long period of time. The human can’t focus for more than 45 minutes, so it is necessary to move away from work and give attention to something else. Then again, come back to your work with a fresh mind and eyes.
Break room
The environment of the working place is very important for the employees just like the break. So it is necessary there should be some separate room in the office where employees go during break. The room should be fully furnished and have a soothing and cozy environment. The break rooms should have the following facilities in it:
- A big table or separate tables for lunch
- Apart from normal chairs, there should be some comfortable chairs as well.
- Light decoration of the room, especially with plants and newspapers and LCD.
- Presence of coffee and tea making facility, microwave, fridge, air-conditioning and dispenser is necessary
