Working-Life > Breaks during Work

Breaks during Work

Definition, Explanation	Tips, Checklist
Articles

Definition, Explanation

Breaks are laid down by the Act on Working Hours and cannot be changed by a contract of employment. A break serves as protection of the employee from overwork and gives him/her the opportunity to eat.

Especially psychological stress counts among the most frequent causes of insufficient job performance and absence due to illness. Scientific studies have found out that the organism summons up the ability to concentrate for 70 to 80 minutes and is then passive for about 20 minutes. It is worthwhile using this period to relax for a short while. For this purpose, making coffee, doing a few gymnastic exercises are good especially when doing deskwork, making telephone calls or filing. The first parts of this relaxation phase are especially effective.

A person's normal rhythm shows a period of high-performance in the morning that leads to natural tiredness towards lunchtime that does not only have something to with lunch. This is why medical practitioners recommend an afternoon nap also called the "power nap". It should not last longer than 20 to 30 minutes. In the USA, Canada, the UK and Japan you can find company-own relaxation rooms.

Tips, Checklist

• A minimum of 11 hours of continuous rest per 24 hours must be adhered to. That means 11 hours must pass from the end of one working day to the beginning of a new one. Readiness for work during this period is not possible but on-call service or stand-by duty is as long as the time is compensated
• When working for longer than 6 hours, the break must be at least 30 minutes, in the case of more than 9 hours, 45 minutes. When working for less than 6 hours, you are not entitled to a break. Breaks must be regulated in advance
• A break can be divided into sections of at least 15 minutes
• If a break is shorter than 15 minutes then it is seen as an interruption to work and is part of the working hours. Especially in highly mechanised companies, there are possible standard regulations on this
• Apart from in mining, breaks are not part of the working hours and are usually not paid for
• How you spend your break is up to you. The employee decides where and how he spends his break. A company agreement can however stipulate that he/she may not leave the company site
• If there is an employee organisation, it is to be called in on stipulating the whereabouts and duration of breaks
• Within a period of 7 days, a 24-hour break must be ensured, whereby Sunday is one day. For work necessary on Sundays and public holidays, separate rules apply
• Make use of breaks. Especially difficult tasks solve themselves when taking a break and doing something different
• In the case of working at the computer, a 5-minute break should be taken every hour to avoid eye problems
• Longer breaks apply in the case of youths: 30-minutes break after 4.5 hours and 60-minutes break after 6 hours

Articles

• What's the best way to take a study break? Cognitive Daily, November 5, 2009

Last update: 12/10/2009