Employees that take online breaks are less likely to be burned out from work, which proves beneficial for them and their companies.

A study by researchers at the University of Cincinnatti showed that online breaks from time to time refreshes the minds of employees and increases their productivity.

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The research led by Sung Doo Kim, a doctoral candidate in the Carl H. Lindner College of Business, gave insights about the current effects of technology and how something usually perceived as a distraction can actually be helpful.

Previous research studies have already been made about off-job breaks like vacations, holidays or after-work hours. Several studies also tackled the effects of office breaks, such as lunch breaks, coffee breaks or cigarette breaks.

The UC study, however, focused on the phenomenon of online office breaks.

Different factors were examined by researchers during the study. These factors included the triggers for online breaks; conditions that lead to taking an online break rather than an offline break; different online break activities and consequences of online work breaks.

The study revealed that online breaks are triggered by a high need for recovery after an intense work period.

Also, employees claim that taking an online break is rejuvenating especially after a lot of face-to-face interaction.

According to the research, online breaks are divided into two categories: pleasure-seeking and non work-related duties.

Pleasure seeking breaks include reading article and listening to music and checking online sports website.

Non-work related breaks includes doing school work, checking in on family members and paying bills.

Researchers grouped the consequences of online breaks into three categories: momentary recovery, learning and satisfaction.

They concluded that online breaks allow employees to balance their work and personal lives. As a result, employees feel better about themselves and become more productive at work.

In addition, several employees use online breaks to check on news or research that is needed for their work.

Kim said future research will examine how working in different industries could affect the choice and effectiveness of taking online breaks.

TagsResearch, UC, web-surfing