by Monica Menco, Assistant to the President

A new USC study which focused on behaviors that improve or deplete participant performance found that performance improved when the participants took regular breaks.

While this study focused on teams of people playing online games, the results could have wider-ranging implications for anyone performing tasks, including those at the work place.

According to the study, “[The researchers] found that players who took regular breaks tended to do better than those who did not—and so did their teams. Player performance decreased on average 8 to 10 per cent between the beginning and end of a game session. Further, they observed that the team to which a player is assigned saw lower win rates on average if that individual had already played other matches without a break.”

California law mandates that most non-exempt employees are entitled to paid breaks depending on the length of work shift, so take your break; your performance could improve.

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