According to a survey by AJ Products, a workplace product supplier, only 41.5% workers who work at desks take breaks every hour.
This is a worrying statistic, given that studies on mental health in the workplace (ASICS 2024) found that 2 hours of uninterrupted work can cause a decline in mental health and an increase in stress by 18%.
Remote employees are more likely to suffer from neck, shoulder, or back pain than office or hybrid workers, even though they take more breaks per hour.
The survey asked people how often they experience back, neck or shoulder pain. This was to determine if there is a connection between regular breaks and common musculoskeletal discomfort.
It does not appear that taking breaks regularly has a major impact on whether or not you experience pain.
Despite taking more breaks, remote workers were the most likely group to feel pain every day (21.3% reported daily pain).
Comparatively, 18.2% office workers and 13.02% hybrid workers who were surveyed reported experiencing pain every day.
It would seem that taking breaks regularly and experiencing pain are not related.
No pain, but brains are important too!
This study may indicate that discomfort or pain shouldn’t be a primary factor in determining whether a worker at a desk needs a break.
For the mental health of the employee in the long-term, it is better to take breaks.
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