A Qualitative Study of “online” Work Breaks

ABSTRACT

Despite the growing empirical evidence on the beneficial effects of “micro” work breaks, scant research has examined “online” work breaks. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore the nature and effects of online work breaks. Through an in-depth qualitative study of a diverse set of 33 full-time working professionals, we identified conditions under which online breaks occur as well as the characteristics and outcomes of these breaks. Interestingly, our findings point to both negative and positive outcomes associated with online breaks, largely dependent on an individual’s ability to self-regulate. Our grounded theory approach allows us to develop a richer description of online work breaks and a theoretical model to help guide future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Qualitative
• grounded theory approach
• recovery
• breaks
• work-nonwork interface

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The numbers following quotes represent the identification number assigned to each study participant. The letters refer to gender: M = male; F = female.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by SHRM Foundation [Grant #152].

Notes on contributors

Sungdoo Kim

Sungdoo Kim (Ph.D., University of Cincinnati) is an Assistant Professor of Management in the College of Business and Management at Northeastern Illinois University. His research interests include work-life balance and the impact of technology use on employee well-being and performance. He can be reached at [email protected].

Stacie Furst-Holloway

Stacie Furst-Holloway (Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is an Associate Professor (Psychology) at the University of Cincinnati. She studies the impact of technology on work, turnover, and gender issues in leadership. She can be reached at [email protected].

Elaine Hollensbe

Elaine Hollensbe (Ph.D., University of Kansas) is a Professor of Management in the Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati. Specific research interests include identity, work-life balance, emotion, self-efficacy in wellness and training contexts, and goal-setting/compensation. She is a former Associate Editor of the Academy of Management Journal and is currently on the editorial boards for the Academy of Management Review, the Academy of Management Journal and the Journal of Organizational Behavior. She can be reached at [email protected].

Suzanne Masterson

Suzanne Masterson (Ph.D., University of Maryland) is a Professor of Management and Doctoral Program Director for the Carl H. Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati. Her research interests encompass organizational justice, the employment relationship (organization-employee and supervisor-employee), and organizational quality. She can be reached at [email protected].

Therese Sprinkle

Therese Sprinkle (Ph.D., University of Cincinnati) is Associate Professor of Management at Quinnipiac University. Her research interests are in the area of work-family flexibility, roles, role-identity concerns, and organizational justice. She sits on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Organizational Behavior, the Organizational Management Journal and the Journal of Social Psychology. She can be reached at [email protected].

Daniele Bologna

Daniele Bologna (Ph.D., University of Cincinnati) is the Global Owner of Selection and Assessment at Procter & Gamble for Entry Level roles overseeing the deployment of various assessments for nearly 1 million candidates annually. In this role, he owns the psychometric and general health of current selection systems as well as leads ongoing innovative projects in testing and assessments. Prior to this role, Daniele has worked in both external and internal roles in areas such as personnel selection, performance appraisal, consensus surveys, strategic planning, and management/leadership development. Daniele holds an MA in I/O Psychology from Xavier University and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Cincinnati.