Yeo, Gillian
Celestine, Nicole A
Gödöllei, Anna
Parabia, Dilkash
Dalmasson, Shaun
Stephenson, Emma
Hoffman, Jenny

There is growing recognition that work breaks are important for facilitating employee recovery. Among the various work breaks shown to aid recovery are those involving mindfulness, such as focused breathing breaks in which attention is directed to the present moment (Hafenbrack et al., 2014). While evidence indicating the effectiveness of mindfulness-related work breaks is growing (Díaz-Silveira et al., 2023; Sianoja et al., 2018), there is debate regarding the unintended negative consequences of mindfulness for outcomes such as creativity (see Hughes et al., 2023). Likewise, there has been little theory or empirical research examining the mechanisms driving the effects of breaks involving mindfulness and how these may differ compared to other types of breaks. This situation represents a problem because some breaks, while aiding recovery, may have unintended negative consequences for valued instrumental outcomes, such as creativity, or they may miss the opportunity to take a more effective break that yields dual benefits for both recovery and instrumental outcomes like creativity.

To address these challenges, we draw on a recent neurocognitive framework of attention (Yeo et al., in press) to propose that taking a “focus-free” break (compared to a mindful “focused breathing” break) has benefits for both recovery and creativity. In particular, we propose that the differential effects of these two breaks can be explained by their invoking the differing attentional states of undirected and present moment attention, respectively. We tested our hypotheses using an experience sampling field experiment with a sample of full-time workers (n = 115), wherein participants took either a focus-free or focused breathing break at lunchtime across ten consecutive workdays. Multilevel analyses revealed that the focus-free breaks were associated with higher reports of idea generation compared to the focused breathing breaks. Moreover, days when employees took the focus-free break (compared to the focused breathing break) were associated with higher reported creativity in the afternoon. As expected, these differential effects were explained by the accompanying forms of attention (undirected vs. present moment) spurring creative thought during the break. This research helps address debate regarding the implications of mindfulness for creativity, demonstrating that despite any benefits of present moment attention for recovery, it may quash the potential for generating ideas and thus stunt creativity. This research also makes a contribution to the work breaks and attention literatures by showcasing focus-free breaks as a time- and cost-effective intervention for enhancing creativity without any trade-offs (relative to focused breathing) for recovery.

At the conclusion of this presentation, attendees will be able to…
- Understand the distinction between two neurologically distinct forms of attention.
- Understand the impact of these two forms of attention for employee wellbeing and organisational creativity.
- Apply a simple, low-cost intervention in the workplace that may aid employee recovery and creativity.