The Importance of Taking a Break From Work

Taking a break from work is an essential element of productive working but can quite often be missed out or intentionally not taken. The reason untaken or missed out. Though on occasion events do take place that can lead to working through breaks, if this happens on a regular or consistent basis it can have a detrimental effect on your performance at work as well as your health, enjoyment, fulfillment and your sense of job satisfaction.

Reasons for this happening can be numerous: a culture of working through breaks may exist at your job, pressure to complete a workload greater than the time available, or working with a constant flow of customers throughout the day are some of the reasons why breaks often get left

We are Less Productive without Breaks

We may think that not taking a break from work results in more work being done, but this is not always the case. It’s a common human trait to allow what we do to expand to the time we have. If we are focused on completing tasks within a certain time-frame, this can often be achieved. This means a more concentrated amount of productive output, allowing for time to take proper breaks.

The Importance of Rest

Having regular breaks also allows for physical and mental rest to be taken. Numerous studies have shown that taking regular breaks helps to revive workers who are able to then perform at a more optimum level when they return to work.

Work Smart, Not Hard

It may seem like a good idea to avoid taking a break from work in order to make yourself look like a hard worker, committed to the needs of the company, but this can create a workplace expectation or normalization of not taking breaks, which puts pressure on others not to take their breaks as well. Any good employer will recognize the importance of their staff taking proper breaks, not just from a legal perspective but for employee well-being and the aforementioned understanding of how working through breaks does not always equate to more work being produced. It may even reflect on you negatively if it were perceived that you lacked the ability to fulfil your job requirements without missing out on breaks.

Health Risks of Not Taking Breaks

There are many health risks involved in not taking a break from work. Persistently long levels of working can lead to serious medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, stress related disease and repetitive strain injuries. Not only is this clearly not good for the worker, it also leads to a depleted and demoralized workforce, as well as the risk of legal lawsuits. Breaks should be regarded as an important part of the working day, and with all the benefits attributed to them, its counter-productive to miss them on a regular basis.

Bio: Jen Smith is a Life Coach, Mentor & Writer. She has tried many career paths herself and now helps people achieve their goals and dreams.