A researcher has found that taking a short smartphone break improves employee happiness and well-being, as it allows them to refresh, in a similar way to other microbreaks (getting coffee, walking around the hallway).
Through a study of 72 full-time workers from various industries, Kim discovered that employees only spend an average of 22 minutes out of an eight-hour workday playing on their smartphones. He also found that employees who take smartphone breaks throughout the day are happier at the end of the workday.
"A smartphone microbreak can be beneficial for both the employee and the organization," Kim said. "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."
Taking a break throughout the workday is important because it is difficult and nearly impossible for an employee to concentrate for eight straight hours a day without a break, Kim said. Smartphone microbreaks are similar to other microbreaks throughout the workday: chatting with coworkers, walking around the hallway or getting a cup of coffee. Such breaks are important because they can help employees cope with the demands of the workplace.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 09 2014, @08:43AM
By providing the cubicle dwellers with opportunities for microbreaks, Carl [dilbert.com] is beneficial for his coworkers and the company.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 09 2014, @08:51AM
0h yeah - piss on tap! let's get the party started!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 09 2014, @09:59AM
I'm aware that the situation in the US is different from mine in the EU but come on.. I mean, workers at an assembly line is one thing but we're talking office workers here, right? The people who have to meet deadlines and have a set of deliverables. Why should it be important when they do it and how long it takes, as long as said deadlines are met? This is crazy, and I for one would never ever work at a place where things such as smartphone or internet time are even mentioned. Not me.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 09 2014, @10:04AM
Micromanagement makes managers feel good about themselves while they do no real work of their own.
(Score: 2) by tibman on Wednesday July 09 2014, @02:05PM
Not arguing against breaks here. Just want to point out that you are using some circular logic. Deadlines are (should be!) projections based on how fast the organization can deliver. If that time includes sanity breaks then great : )
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 5, Funny) by c0lo on Wednesday July 09 2014, @10:21AM
Oh? What do you mean by the other way around?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 09 2014, @01:08PM
Or you could take up smoking.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by zafiro17 on Wednesday July 09 2014, @01:15PM
How about giving your workers 'any kind of break at all'? This article, or the headline, at least, seems ridiculous. Was it a desperate ploy to get the thing published for a world that's desperately interested in the next story about smartphones?
When I was a kid, we had another word for smartphone breaks: smoking a cigarette. You should try it some time.
BTW, when I read the article I was hoping to find it was actually about people taking a break FROM their smartphones! Last time I looked, people don't even know how to walk anymore, just trudging down the sidewalk while staring intently at the screens of their iphones. Gimme a break - boring!
Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis - Jack Handey
(Score: 2) by hubie on Wednesday July 09 2014, @02:37PM
You beat me to the punch. I too was more interested in a study about people taking a break from their smartphone. The thing that gets me with this article (or the summary, at least):
And why did we think this "microbreak" would be different from any other?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by lhsi on Wednesday July 09 2014, @11:02PM
In the others you are likely standing up from your desk and stop looking at a screen. For the smartphone microbreak, you can stay sitting and you just switch from one screen to another.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 09 2014, @05:25PM
Every time someone tries to patent an old idea but "on the internet/computer/etc", everyone here freaks out accordingly.
This story is exactly the same thing. It's a very old idea, but "on a smartphone"