Break for Success

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INDUSTRIAL ENGINEER – VOLUME 46 NUMBER 9

SMARTPHONE USE AT WORK – IN MODERATION – CAN BE A PLUS

Pecking away at your smartphone for a few minutes each day could make your workday happier and more productive, according to a Kansas State University.

Such as “smartphone microbreaks” took an average of 22 minutes out of an eight-hour workday, according to the study of 72 full-time workers from various industries, said Kansas State doctoral student Sooyeol Kim. Microbreaks are defined as nonworking-related behaviors during working hours, and include chatting with co-workers, walking down the hall or getting a cup of coffee. The breaks help employees cope with workplace demands.

Workers who texted family, played “Angry Birds” or checked their Facebook accounts for a few minutes during work were happier at the end of the day because they were able to recover from work stress and that short breaks could provide them with refreshment to do their job.

Kim’s team developed an application that privately and securely measured the employees’ smartphone usage during work hours. The app also divided smartphone usage into categories such as entertainment, which included games, like “Angry Birds” or “Candy Crush” or social media. The users didn’t play games for hours at a time, which definitely would have crashed productivity.