Recovery from work is generally thought to occur outside of the workplace. However, employees may also have the opportunity to recover within the work day via microbreaks during demanding work tasks. Two major strategies for mitigating fatigue include psychological detachment (i.e., mentally disengaging) and replenishing motivational incentives via positive affect. This study examined whether 40-s “microbreaks” improve work recovery and to what extent different microbreak content (mastery vs. relaxation activities) boost performance. Using an experimental study, we randomly assigned individuals to receive a relaxation microbreak (n =59), a mastery microbreak (n =68), or no break (n =72) in the middle of a monotonous work task and assessed work performance. Microbreaks improved task performance and within-task recovery, but only for psychological detachment (not positive affect). Mastery breaks also resulted in more psychological detachment than relaxation breaks, but this increased detachment did not explain performance differences between break types. These results build on existing recovery theories by further demonstrating within-task recovery and provide practical implications for organizations to consider the importance of microbreaks.
AbdinS.WelchR. K.Byron-DanielJ.MeyrickJ. (2018).
The effectiveness of physical activity interventions in improving well-being across office-based workplace settings: A systematic review. Public Health,
160, 70–76. doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2018.03.029
2.
AmmonsR. B.AmmonsC. H. (1959).
A standard anagram task. Psychological Reports,
5, 654–656. doi:10.2466/pr0.1959.5.3.654
3.
BakkerA. B.DemeroutiE. (2007).
The job demands‐resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology,
22, 309–328. doi:10.1108/02683940710733115
4.
BealD. J.WeissH. M.BarrosE.MacDermidS. M. (2005).
An episodic process model of affective influences on performance. Journal of Applied Psychology,
90, 1054–1068. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.90.6.1054
5.
BennettA. A.BakkerA. B.FieldJ. G. (2018).
Recovery from work-related effort: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior,
39, 262–275. doi:10.1002/job.2217
6.
BinnewiesC.SonnentagS.MojzaE. J. (2010).
Recovery during the weekend and fluctuations in weekly job performance: A week‐level study examining intra‐individual relationships. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology,
83, 419–441. doi:10.1348/096317909X418049
7.
BoschC.SonnentagS.PinckA. S. (2018).
What makes for a good break? A diary study on recovery experiences during lunch break. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology,
91, 134–157. doi:10.1111/joop.12195
8.
BradleyM.LangP. J. (1994).
Measuring emotion: The self-assessment manikin and the semantic differential. Journal of Behavior, Theory, and Experimental Psychiatry,
25, 49–59. doi:10.1016/0005-7916(94)90063-9
9.
CarverS.ScheierM. F. (1990).
Origins and functions of positive and negative affect: A control-process view. Psychological Review,
97, 19–35. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.97.1.19
10.
ChengD.WangL. (2015).
Examining the energizing effects of humor: The influence of humor on persistence behavior. Journal of Business and Psychology,
30, 759–772. doi:10.1007/s10869-014-9396-z
11.
de BloomJ.GeurtsS. A. E.KompierM. A. J. (2012).
Effects of short vacations, vacation activities and experiences on employee health and well-being. Stress and Health,
28, 305–318. doi:10.1002/smi.1434
12.
DemeroutiE.BakkerA. B.GeurtsS. A. E.TarisT. W. (2009). Daily recovery from work-related effort during nonwork time. In SonnentagS.PerrewéP. L.GansterD. C. (Eds.), Current perspectives on job stress recovery: Research in occupational stress and well-being (pp. 85–123).
Bingley, England:
JAI Press. doi:10.1108/S1479-3555(2009)0000007006
13.
DemeroutiE.BakkerA. B.NachreinerF.SchaufeliW. B. (2001).
The job demands–resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology,
86, 499–512. doi:10.1037//0021-9010.86.3.499
14.
FritzC.LamC. F.SpreitzerG. M. (2011).
It’s the little things that matter: An examination of knowledge workers' energy management. The Academy of Management Perspectives,
25(3), 28–39. doi:10.5465/amp.25.3.zol28
15.
HahnV. C.BinnewiesC.SonnentagS.MojzaE. J. (2011).
Learning how to recover from job stress: Effects of a recovery training program on recovery, recovery-related self-efficacy, and well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology,
16, 202–216. doi:10.1037/a0022169
16.
HayesA. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression based approach.
New York, NY:
Guilford Press.
17.
HenningR. A.SauterS. L.SalvendyG.KriegE. F.Jr, (1989). Effects of microbreaks on performance and well‐being in data entry work. In Proceedings of the third international conference on human‐computer interaction, Vol. 1 on work with computers: Organizational, management, stress and health aspects (pp. 377–380). New York, NY: Elsevier Science.
18.
HobfollS. E. (1989).
Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist,
44, 513–524. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513
19.
Howell D. C. (1998). Statistical Methods in Human Sciences.
New York, NY:
Wadsworth.
20.
HunterE. M.WuC. (2016).
Give me a better break: Choosing workday break activities to maximize resource recovery. Journal of Applied Psychology,
101, 302–311. doi:10.1037/apl0000045
21.
JungT. P.MakeigS.StensmoM.SejnowskiT. J. (1997).
Estimating alertness from the EEG power spectrum. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering,
44, 60–69. doi:10.1109/10.553713
22.
KaplanS. (1995).
The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology,
15, 169–182. doi:10.1016/0272-4944(95)90001-2
23.
KayaN.EppsH. H. (2004).
Relationship between color and emotion: A study of college students. College Student Journal,
38, 396–405.
24.
KervynN.FiskeS. T.YzerbytV. Y. (2013).
Integrating the stereotype content model (warmth and competence) and the Osgood semantic differential (evaluation, potency, and activity). European Journal of Social Psychology,
43, 673–681. doi:10.1002/ejsp.1978
25.
KimS.ParkY.HeadrickL. (2018).
Daily micro-breaks and job performance: General work engagement as a cross-level moderator. Journal of Applied Psychology,
103, 772–786. doi:10.1037/apl0000308
26.
KimS.ParkY.NiuQ. (2017).
Micro-break activities at work to recover from daily work demands. Journal of Organizational Behavior,
38, 28–44. doi:10.1002/job.2109
27.
KlugerA., N.DeNisiA. (1996).
The effects of feedback interventions on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. Psychological Bulletin,
119, 254–284. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.119.2.254
28.
KorpelaK.KinnunenU. (2010).
How is leisure time interacting with nature related to the need for recovery from work demands? Testing multiple mediators. Leisure Sciences,
33, 1–14. doi:10.1080/01490400.2011.533103
LaranJ.JaniszewskiC. (2011).
Work or fun? How task construal and completion influence regulatory behavior. Journal of Consumer Research,
37, 967–983. doi:10.1086/656576
31.
LeeK. E.WilliamsK. J. H.SargentL. D.WilliamsN. S. G.JohnsonK. A. (2015).
40-second green roof views sustain attention: The role of micro-breaks in attention restoration. Journal of Environmental Psychology,
42, 182–189. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.04.003
32.
McLeanL.TingleyM.ScottR. N.RickardsJ. (2001).
Computer terminal work and the benefit of microbreaks. Applied Ergonomics,
32, 225–237.
33.
MeijmanT. F.MulderG. (1998). Psychological aspects of workload. In DrenthP. J. D.ThierryH.de WolffC. J. (Eds.), Handbook of work and organizational psychology: Work psychology (pp. 5–33).
Hove, England:
Psychology Press.
34.
QuinnR. W.SpreitzerG. M.LamC. F. (2012).
Building a sustainable model of human energy in organizations: Exploring the critical role of resources. The Academy of Management Annals,
6, 337–396. doi:10.1080/19416520.2012.676762
35.
RookJ. W.ZijlstraF. R. H. (2006).
The contribution of various types of activities to recovery. European Journal of Work Organizational Psychology,
15, 218–240. doi:10.1080/13594320500513962
36.
SchaufeliW. B.BakkerA. B.Van RhenenW. (2009).
How changes in job demands and resources predict burnout, work engagement, and sickness absenteeism. Journal of Organizational Behavior,
30, 893–917. doi:10.1002/job.595
37.
ShibataS.SuzukiN. (2004).
Effects of an indoor plant on creative task performance and mood. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology,
45, 373–381. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9450.2004.00419.x
38.
SianojaM.SyrekC. J.de BloomJ.KorpelaK.KinnunenU. (2018).
Enhancing daily well-being at work through lunchtime park walks and relaxation exercises: Recovery experiences as mediators. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology,
23, 428–442. doi:10.1037/ocp0000083
39.
SiuO. L.CooperC. L.PhillipsD. R. (2014).
Intervention studies on enhancing work well-being, reducing burnout, and improving recovery experiences among Hong Kong health care workers and teachers. International Journal of Stress Management,
21, 69–84. doi:10.1037/a0033291
40.
SonnentagS.BinnewiesC.MojzaE. J. (2008).
Did you have a nice evening?” A day-level study on recovery experiences, sleep, and affect. Journal of Applied Psychology,
93, 674–684. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.93.3.674
41.
SonnentagS.FritzC. (2007).
The Recovery Experience Questionnaire: Development and validation of a measure for assessing recuperation and unwinding from work. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology,
12, 204–221. doi:10.1037/1076-8998.12.3.204
42.
SonnentagS.FritzC. (2015).
Recovery from job stress: The stressor-detachment model as an integrative framework. Journal of Organizational Behavior,
36, 72–103. doi:10.1002/job.1924
43.
SonnentagS.VenzL.CasperA. (2017).
Advances in recovery research: What have we learned? What should be done next?Journal of Occupational Health Psychology,
22, 365–380. doi:10.1037/ocp0000079
44.
StotlandE. (1969). The psychology of hope.
San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
45.
TrougakosJ. P.BealD. J.GreenS. G.WeissH. M. (2008).
Making the break count: An episodic examination of recovery activities, emotional experiences, and positive affective displays. Academy of Management Journal,
51, 131–146. doi:10.5465/amj.2008.30764063
46.
TrougakosJ. P.HidegI. (2009). Momentary work recovery: The role of within-day work breaks. In. SonnentagS.PerrewéP. L.GansterD. C. (Eds.), Current perspectives on job-stress recovery (pp. 37–84).
Bingley, England:
Emerald.
47.
TuckerP. (2003).
The impact of rest breaks upon accident risk, fatigue and performance: A review. Work & Stress,
17, 123–137. doi:10.1080/0267837031000155949
WatsonD.WieseD.VaidyaJ.TellegenA. (1999).
The two general activation systems of affect: Structural findings, evolutionary considerations, and psychobiological evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
76, 820–838. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.76.5.820
