Lockdown gives positive impetus to work breaks

Breaks are an important factor for well-being at work and can thus contribute to a more fulfilling professional life. The online professional network Xing wanted to know what the break habits of Swiss professionals are and what influence working in a home office has. As part of a representative survey, Xing Switzerland first asked the market and opinion research institute Marketagent.com to collect data on the break behavior of Swiss professionals. In addition, around 600 Swiss home office workers were surveyed directly via the Xing platform about their break habits within their own four walls.

The main results of the study:

Home office brings movement into work breaks

Walking, jogging, biking: Working at home brings exercise into work breaks for many professionals. Almost four out of ten home office workers (38 percent) say they have tried outdoor exercise as a new break activity. In addition, 19 percent of respondents have used their breaks for fitness or yoga for the first time thanks to home office. At the regular workplace, however, sports and exercise as a break activity are in the lower ranks, according to the results of the representative study from the spring: Only one in ten regularly uses their work breaks to exercise. Conscious relaxation, such as breathing exercises or meditation, is also rarely practiced. Only six percent of those surveyed said they regularly relax consciously during their breaks. The list of the most frequent break activities is headed by drinking and eating, talking to colleagues and chatting via WhatsApp and text messages.

Also high on the list when taking a break: baking and power naps

Other break activities that Swiss people have discovered for themselves in the home office are housework (mentioned by 28 percent), cooking and baking (also 28 percent) and the little nap in between, the so-called power nap (17 percent). Overall, around 70 percent of respondents said they had tried out new break activities in the home office.

Xing Switzerland CEO Robert Bertschinger says of the results: "Working in a home office is often used by Swiss professionals as an opportunity to try out new ways of organizing breaks. Especially when it comes to exercise, it would be desirable for these positive impulses to continue to have an effect in the regular workday after the lockdown."

One in three takes too few breaks

The results of the representative survey from the spring show that around a third of working people (35 percent) do not take enough breaks according to their own assessment. Two-thirds of them (66 percent) would like to change that. The three most common reasons for not taking enough time off are: There is too much to do (a common reason for 61 percent), breaks are simply forgotten (a common reason for 42 percent) or forgoing breaks is part of the corporate culture (a common reason for 30 percent).

Break at home: more relaxing but more difficult to realize

Despite less social control and greater freedom to organize breaks, taking breaks at home does not seem to be easier. Slightly more than a third (35 percent) of the Xing members surveyed in the home office even find it more difficult to take work breaks at home. For 41 percent, there is no difference and only 24 percent of respondents find it easier to take breaks in the home office.

On the other hand, the effect of breaks in the home office is rated positively. Four out of ten respondents find the breaks in the home office more relaxing than in the office. Only 20 percent find the breaks in the office more relaxing. The remaining 40 percent feel no difference.

"Whether in the home office or at the workplace in the company, the positive effect of work breaks has already been demonstrated umpteen times. Employers who cultivate a conscious break culture not only promote the well-being of their employees, but also productivity within their own company at the same time," says Robert Bertschinger. "Our study shows that not all Swiss companies are yet exploiting this potential."