I’m a psychologist: You need to set your alarm and take a break from work right now — for your health

Australians are miserable at work, according to recent data.

Not only do nearly half of Aussie workers report being unhappy at work, we’re also spending record amounts of time there, with one study finding we’ve increased the hours we work per week and decreased our overall work/life balance scores.

And while companies insist they’re trying to combat this decrease in happiness (according to research, 80 percent of global companies have said they’re prioritising staff wellbeing), this commitment does not appear to be filtering down to the people they employ.

Recent research from Subway found four out of five Aussies failing to take their lunch breaks, resulting in around 7.5 million hours of lost breaks per week.

This finding came as Gen Z and Millennial respondents in particular (67 percent and 53 percent respectively) noted this practice had a negative impact on their mental and physical health.

Psychologist and workplace consultant Anoushka Dowling says that not only does working without a break for an extended period of time lead to fatigue, it can also impair decision-making.

“Sometimes we think that not taking breaks is making us more productive, but what is more likely happening is that we are not giving our brains a chance to rest, increasing stress, and in fact decreasing productivity,” she explains.

“Similarly, sitting for a long period of time can increase musculoskeletal problems, and impact cardiovascular health. Less visible and less obvious however are the risks to our emotional wellbeing.”

Almost a third (31 percent) of people surveyed said setting a reminder in their phone to stop and take a break would encourage them to take a lunch break more frequently, something Dowling says is a simple but effective strategy everyone can employ to better prioritize wellbeing.

“Putting yourself and your wellbeing at the forefront is paramount,” she continues.

“Putting strategies in place to prevent burnout is the best approach. In busy roles, it feels like taking a break may not feel possible in the short term but will actually benefit you in the long term.”

Dowling adds that while personal reminders to take regular breaks help in a practical sense, there needs to be a more systemic shift with the way workplaces operate as well.

“The most important component is a workplace that prioritises breaks, and supports and encourages workers to take them,” she says.

“The culture of the workplace will more often than not set the standard as to whether taking breaks is the norm. It’s a great measure of a positive culture.”

Bond University Assistant Professor of Organisational Psychology Dr Libby Sander agrees that change has to come from the top in workplaces in order to normalise wellness-promoting behaviour.

“Acting as a role model as a manager to break this culture is essential,” Dr Sander says, “even if we’re not working in a toxic work culture. We all know that ‘hustle culture’ is still highly prized and valued, and we see this glorified in the media by many of these stereotypical start-up founders who sleep on the packing floor and work through lunch and press you to do more than the person next to you, this kind of survival of the fittest, Hunger Games type mentality,” she says.

“I think a manager can play a key role in modelling the opposite type of behaviour to say ‘you know what? That is actually very unhelpful and very unsustainable over the long term’. Managers need to break this kind of hustle culture mentality.”