I facebook at work.
Admit it, you probably do, too.
I’ve always thought it was some level of adult ADD that caused me to click around to myriad sites in at random times in my shift. I feel that the mini-breaks help me return to concentration. Now, there’s scientific research to back me up.
Australian researchers found that people who use the Web for personal reasons while at work are about 9% more productive than those who don’t. (Here’s the original release from the Univ. of Melbourne)
“People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration. Think back to when you were in class listening to a lecture – after about 20 minutes your concentration probably went right down, yet after a break your concentration was restored,” says Brent Coker, a professor of management and marketing, and the author of the study. “It’s the same in the work place. Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days work, and as a result, increased productivity.”
Coker says much of work can be separated into “mini-tasks,” after which we like to reward ourselves. But if we’re unable to reset our thinking pattern with a guilty-pleasures Facebook reward (i.e. if your office blocks such sites) our overall concentration suffers. The theory nearly perfectly explains why my mini-task-filled job is such a good fit for me.
