Employees who incorporate microbreaks alongside work-related strategies into their workday are more motivated and energised, University of Queensland research has found.
Associate Professor Stacey Parker from UQ’s School of Psychology led a study examining different approaches to managing energy levels at work, and their effect on staff wellbeing, motivation and stress.
The study involved office workers wearing heart rate monitors and completing brief surveys throughout the workday, allowing researchers to measure both psychological and physiological responses.
“There are lots of things people can do to stay energised and motivated at work including taking a quick walk, chatting to a colleague or planning their goals for the day,” Dr Parker said.
“Taking short pauses, or ‘microbreaks’, alongside activities such as organising work, can help people manage their energy levels.
“We found these behaviours tend to group together into 5 common patterns, or energy-management profiles, that people use throughout the workday.”
- Moving: taking short physical microbreaks to walk or stretch
- Socialising: connecting with colleagues via brief social or work-related conversations
- Meaningful organising: planning and organising work, like updating to-do lists, calendars and goals, reflecting on the meaning of one’s work
- Active strategising: combining meaningful organising strategies with different types of microbreaks within the same hour.
- Passive strategising: staying mainly focused on work tasks, with little use of energy-management strategies.
The study showed employees recorded the highest levels of energy, motivation and a sense of mastery at work when they actively strategised – meaningfully organising their work alongside taking microbreaks.
But Dr Parker said this approach was only used in 6 per cent of the over 600 work hours studied.
“Surprisingly only around 25 per cent of employees could be classified as effective strategisers who regularly used beneficial energy management approaches,” she said.
“Our findings suggest employees don’t have to choose between working and taking a break.
“They can combine restorative activities with work-focused strategies, even within a single hour, and gain benefits for both wellbeing and performance.”
Dr Parker said the findings could help organisations design more effective wellbeing initiatives and create healthier workplaces.
“There’s a real opportunity for employers to give people the information, tools and support they need to manage their energy more effectively,” she said.
“There’s still work to be done, but these findings provide practical guidance on how employees can feel better, stay motivated and cope more effectively with the demands of work.”
Read the research in Journal of Business and Psychology.
Collaboration and acknowledgements
The study included researchers Dr Nerisa Dozo from The University of Queensland, Dr Niamh Dawson from The University of Sydney, and Professor Hannes Zacher from Leipzig University.
