Haley O’Neal | October, 8, 2024
When thinking of rest during the workday, you may picture someone sitting still on their phone or taking a quick power nap in the car, but rest and recovery looks very different when it comes to optimizing focus and performance. Taking a load off may seem like the best way to stop a midday crash but the truth is: sitting still burns your cognitive energy.
In a study testing the impact of microbreaks on workers, researchers found that for workers who remained seated throughout the workday, perceived energy level peaked immediately after breakfast and then declined through the day back to the baseline value. For those who engaged in a single bout of exercise, participants reported higher energy levels than those reported by sedentary workers and those taking microbreaks. However, for employees taking microbreaks, their perceived energy level was greater compared to both sedentary workers and workers who engaged in pre-work exercise. When measuring energy level immediately after their last microbreak, participants reported a higher energy level than sedentary employees and even higher than those who exercised once before work. Thus, microbreaks are the best method to not only preserve, but boost energy levels throughout the day compared to sitting and pre-work exercise.8
Sitting still leads to higher levels of fatigue, lower levels of energy and cognitive function, and less time spent focusing. But when you break up that time spent sitting with movement and exert a bit of physical energy, something amazing happens: you actually GAIN energy.
While time management is important, time is a fixed state that can be organized into to-do lists and schedules, but what happens when your energy levels are depleted? Energy management allows you to create a schedule that works with both your time, and your mind and body.
“Today, I believe we are facing a ‘human energy crisis’ that is taking a toll on employees. From the warehouse, to the sales floor, to the office, workers are languishing, feeling burnt out, and exhibiting emotional detachment. These feelings demonstrate that people everywhere are struggling to maintain balance in their work and personal lives."4 Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft Chief People Officer
Manage your energy, not your time; an adage many have heard but few know how to do correctly. You can’t bring the same amount of energy all day- so you must plan for your energy to dip, not remain constant. It can be easy to overlook burnout when there is a looming deadline, but allowing just a few minutes of recovery can completely change the trajectory of your day.
Managing your energy requires understanding the different types of energy you have and how to recover each of them: physical energy, emotional energy, mental energy, and spiritual energy.7
Depleted physical energy may feel like tense shoulders, an aching back, drooping eyelids, or a midday yawn. Physical energy is the most fundamental form, with most people feeling a dip between 3 and 4 pm but this can vary depending on your previous day’s activities.
Depleted mental energy may feel like getting easily distracted, procrastinating, or shifting to easier tasks. Pushing past your mental bandwidth each day can lead to burnout and detachment, while working with your mental energy through recovery techniques can expand your energy over time.
Depleted emotional energy may feel like avoiding others, feeling easily angry or frustrated, or feeling stressed.
Stress at work can severely deplete your emotional energy, but those taking microbreaks experienced significantly lower job-related stress compared to their counterparts who maintained their regular sitting habits.2 Hard conversations with customers, bosses, or colleagues, can also have a negative impact on emotional energy. Microbreaks can help by reducing the strain of these negative emotions. People are in a better mood on days when they take movement breaks, reporting more positive emotions, fewer negative feelings and more energy, and an average 25% reduction in fatigue.9
Depleted spiritual energy may feel like a lack of passion for your work or life, not being able to commit to projects or tasks, or acting out of character. Finding ways to connect with your community, the natural world, and your sense of self can help recover drained spiritual energy.
The most important step in energy management is learning about yourself! Spend a week tracking how each form of energy feels every hour and then spend the next week experimenting with what forms of recovery works best for you.
With 48% of employees and 53% of managers reporting that they’re burned out at work, it is clear we are suffering from an energy crisis.4 Forcing employees to work through their burnout, push through extreme stress, and continue to work long hours on complex tasks only exacerbates the problem. What employees need are breaks; the space and encouragement to evaluate their energy levels and time to recover them effectively. Pizza parties, company swag, and $10 gift cards may seem like a quick and easy way to address energy issues, they can actually make employees feel more unheard.
“To address the human energy crisis, managers must demonstrate that they are listening and taking action.”4 Show, don’t just tell employees that breaks are an essential part of the workday by modeling the behavior yourself and gifting microbreaks to your team. To change your team, you must change your culture around breaks.
“For leaders, it’s important to model taking time off. Leaders can do this by sharing stories of their time off or by talking about the flexibility they provide themselves. Doing so lets others know that they have permission to take their foot off the gas too.”4 Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft Chief People Officer
An interview with Mark Morris and Melissa Painter: dance for all, movement in the workplace and through life, and giving employees the tools they need to feel good https://www.dance-enthusiast.com/features/the-dance-enthusiast-asks/view/Mark-Morris-Melissa-Painter-Breakthru-
Breakthru partners with Mark Morris Dance Group to bring the joy of movement to the workday and make dance more accessible for all https://www.danceinforma.com/2024/10/02/dancing-at-your-desk-mark-morris-dance-group-and-breakthru-create-dance-breaks-for-your-workday/
Microsoft for Startups Blog: Breakthru founder Melissa Painter: Expanding well-being in a distributed world with Microsoft Teams
Microsoft’s look into Melissa Painter and her app, Breakthru: the immersive well-being app that’s helping remote teams feel more centered, energized, and connected to their minds and bodies.
Analytics India Magazine: Prioritise Your Well-Being with Breakthru.me: The Immersive and Interactive Wellness Experience Designed for Everyone
Learn how Breakthru helps you take a quick break from your daily routine to get moving, without the need for any special equipment or gear.
Breakthru partners with the NHS to improve healthcare worker’s mental and physical health through microbreaks. In just under a year over, Breakthru is being used in over 85 percent of the NHS Trust organizations—and growing.
How Microsoft Teams helped the Breakthru app bring wellbeing to 45,000 organizations
Breakthru utilizes Microsoft Teams to reach employees where they are already working to help them create a microbreak habit that leads to improved motivation, focus, cognitive performance, and physical and mental wellness.