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How to Maintain Optimal Engagement in Your Work Without Compromising Your Well-Beingand lead you to burnout ? A problem that researchers from Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina), Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, Virginia) and Northeastern University (Boston, Massachusetts) have explored.
To conduct their study (published in November 2024 in the journal Contemporary Accounting Research), they analyzed the behavior of 44 accountants by comparing their actions during quiet periods and periods of high demand in 2020 and 2021.
The importance of micro-breaks
The researchers first focused on the effectiveness of micro-breaks in the work environment of the people studied. They identified four distinct categories of micro-breaks: physical relaxation, meals, brief social interactions, and light cognitive activities. Each of these categories contributes specifically to mental recovery.
The analysis of fatigue levels, measured on a standardized scale from 1 to 5, reveals visible differences between participants according to their practice of micro-breaks. During periods of high activity, the difference is particularly marked: employees who regularly take one-minute breaks have an average fatigue score of 3.28, compared to 3.95 for those who do not take them, a reduction of 0.67 points. This difference, which may seem modest in absolute value, actually represents a considerable improvement of 17% in the level of perceived fatigue.
The study highlighted another phenomenon: the amplification of the benefits of these short breaks in activity during periods of high workload. During these periods, the gap widens further: regular practitioners of micro-breaks report levels of fatigue 25% lower than their colleagues who do not take them. Concretely, on the measurement scale used, this translates into an average score of 2.96 compared to 3.95 for the control group.
The impact on sleep quality, another key indicator of the study, is equally convincing. The researchers used a composite index of sleep quality, integrating several parameters such as the duration of falling asleep, the continuity of rest and the feeling of recovery upon waking. The data show an average improvement of 15% in this index among regular micro-break practitioners, their score increasing from 3.43 to 3.95 on the standardized 5-point scale.
The positive effect is measurable: participants who benefit from better sleep present the next day initial fatigue levels lower by 11% on average, thus creating a virtuous cycle of recovery. Their morning fatigue scores averaged 2.49, compared to 2.79 for the group not taking micro-breaks.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Benevolent management: a bulwark against exhaustion
Hierarchical support has its role to play in preventing burnout, micro-breaks alone are not enough. Participant observation allowed researchers to deconstruct the mechanisms by which management influences employee fatigue levels.
Three interdependent dimensions were identified to qualify managerial support as truly effective. The first is manifested by genuine availability of the managerin the face of the daily difficulties encountered by teams. This attentive presence, far from being a simple posture, translates into concrete interventions and personalized support in resolving professional obstacles. Quantitative data reveals that this availability is associated with an average reduction of 15% in levels of perceived fatigue.
The second fundamental aspect lies in the ability of management to explicitly recognize the efforts made by employees. This recognition is not measured by simple formal congratulations, but is embodied in a finer understanding of the challenges met and a sincere appreciation of individual contributions. Researchers have observed that this recognition is particularly critical during periods of high intensity, when it acts as a powerful modulator of occupational stress.
The attention paid to employee well-beingconstitutes the third pillar of this managerial triptych. This benevolent vigilance is embodied by an ability to detect signs of fatigue early and to implement preventive organizational adjustments. The study data demonstrate that teams benefiting from this form of attention have significantly higher levels of resilience in the face of peaks in activity.
Thus, teams supervised by managers who are concerned about these three dimensions have 27% lower levels of fatigue during periods of high activity, compared to teams not benefiting from this type of support.
To ensure that these results do not remain a dead letter, it would now be intelligent to translate these scientific lessons into practices adapted to the field. So, what are we waiting for to finally listen to science and rethink our work environments ? In France alone, the phenomenon of burnout is taking on a worrying scale, so much so that we could almost compare it to an epidemic. According to 2022 figures from the Empreinte Humaine firm, 2.5 million people are affected, and the health monitoring institute estimates that there are 34,000 cases of burnout among the 480,000 employees suffering from psychological distress.
- Regular micro-breaks significantly improve mental recovery, reduce work-related fatigue and promote better sleep.
- Attentive and caring management plays a key role in preventing burnout by actively supporting employees.
- Faced with the alarming increase in the phenomenon of burnout, these practices should be essential to preserve mental health at work.
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