Link between Breaks and Productivity
Some fields of research focus on the link between breaks and productivity. One of these studies is conducted by Christina Maslach, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley on the burnout of people in the contemporary work culture. Although we can say that breaks do somehow link to productivity, we should not see breaks as a significant and quantifiable correlation to productivity religiously. Instead, it can be said that breaks are there to make people become “properly” productive.
Breaks are necessary for people to uphold a reasonable kind of productiveness. Solely, it is not a catalyst for yielding higher results in quality cum quantity but an inherently part of the process. One of the factors of exhaustion is overworking. According to Christina Maslach(cited from Naras, 2010), “she found that workaholism doesn’t lead to peak performance or creativity” and workaholics are “often becoming fatigued and burned out”. We all know what happens when you do not rest at all after working for a long period: you turn tired. We all know what fatigue will do to you if you continue to work: you perform badly and you breakdown. So if we want to work well and produce better results, we should take a break when needed.
However one should not take breaks as a measurable correlation to productivity. Simply saying, more breaks do not make you more productive. When, Henry Ford changed his employees’ shift from 10-hours to 8-hours and their work week from six days to five, he found that workers accomplished no more in 60 hours a week than in 40(cited from Stein, 2011). Although the main purpose of exemplifying this is to affirm that there is not any use to put in extra work hours, it can also be said that longer breaks itself has no effect on productivity. There is no difference in the accomplishment from Henry Ford’s worker even with the reduction of work hours. Therefore, it’s important to note that breaks do not have a measurable correlation to productivity; it stops when it reaches its limit.
Now, the culture of work has become hectic. In exchange of success, people trade free time for work, hoping to accomplish more tasks. Consequently, it is counter-intuitive that most people would consider taking longer breaks to work "well" despite being burned out. Overworking often does not necessarily mean achieving better results as breaks are vital to producing results of reasonable quality. Nonetheless, breaks do not have the ability to skyrocket productivity. Therefore, the main purpose of breaks is to make work "right".
