Why take a break during your workday?
It’s important to understand the benefits of breaks at work. A break is only effective if you truly step away from your tasks. Eating lunch or drinking coffee at your desk while working does not count as a real break.
So why take a real pause? Why interrupt work after a certain amount of time? Why leave your desk at all?
A double benefit
Taking breaks during the workday offers a double advantage.
On the one hand, it benefits you as a person. Your health, your well-being. But not only that.
It’s also valuable for the company you work for. Employers need you at your best to maximize productivity. Any company aiming to improve performance should create proper spaces where employees can take real breaks.
The Pomodoro technique, created by Francesco Cirillo, illustrates this well. It helps avoid procrastination by encouraging people with heavy workloads to focus on one task at a time rather than multitasking poorly. The human body is not a robot built to run endlessly. Recovery requires proper rest. Rest does not necessarily mean sleep. It means calming the mind to relax the body.
Legal perspective
In many countries, labor law grants workers at least 20 consecutive minutes of rest after six hours of work. According to the French INRS (National Research and Safety Institute), to reduce fatigue, breaks should be split into shorter segments: 5 minutes per hour of intense work, or 15 minutes every two hours for standard conditions.
If employers want higher productivity from their teams, they must not only allow but actively encourage moments of rest.
The benefits of taking breaks at work
So what exactly are the benefits of work breaks? We can look at the benefits of work breaks from two perspectives: the employee and the employer.
For employees
Humans are not machines; they need rest to function. Health depends on it.
At work, the brain is constantly active. Over time, this is exhausting. Even if it’s not visible right away. When working on a computer, it’s essential to rest the head and eyes, see something other than a screen, and move the feet to stimulate blood circulation. The brain also needs essential nutrients to function properly. A lack of them leads to fatigue and reduced cognitive ability.
For employers
From a company’s perspective, employee health ensures well-being and productivity. The calmer employees feel, the better their performance.
Breaks help reduce fatigue, headaches, and burnout. They also prevent poor decision-making, workplace accidents, and drops in efficiency.
It’s therefore in the employer’s best interest to ensure employees take regular breaks. One effective solution is to provide access to healthy snacks. A coffee break is one option, but nutrition-rich snacks are another way to recharge effectively.
The ideal break at work
When thinking of breaks, coffee often comes to mind. But a proper break is not limited to that. It’s a moment when the brain relaxes while staying within the rhythm of the workplace.
Workday well-being also comes from a varied diet. Providing dried fruits and nuts is an excellent solution. They’re rich in vitamins, calcium, and magnesium. They have a long shelf life, support cardiovascular health, and make for the perfect nutritious snack.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article and that it has helped you better understand the benefits of taking breaks at work.
Published on 17/04/2020
