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More frequent breaks from screen-based work reduce fatigue and increase productivity, US government researchers have found. A team from the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reached this conclusion after observing a group of 51 data entry clerks.
All the workers spent four weeks with 'conventional' breaks - two 15 minute breaks per day - and 4 weeks with an extra four 5 minute breaks per day. Results showed eyestrain and discomfort were significantly reduced by the supplementary breaks.
Reporting last month in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, the researchers wrote: 'Data-entry speed was significantly faster with supplementary breaks so that work output was maintained, despite replacing 20 min of work time with break time.' They concluded: 'These results provide further converging evidence that supplementary breaks reliably minimise discomfort and eyestrain without impairing productivity.' NIOSH researchers in 2002 linked repetitive work in a wide range of manual jobs to arthritis of the hands and wrist.
Read an abstract of the report here
Source: TUC Risks
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