Breaks and productivity: An exploratory analysis.

The Fair Labor Standards Act suggests that short rest periods of 5-20 min may improve employee productivity, but there is limited experimental research on the topic. The current study compared productivity when breaks were not required (i.e., control session) compared with when breaks were programmed by the experimenter (i.e., experimental session). Sixteen undergraduate students completed two 2-hr sessions of a simulated check-processing task. Half of the participants were randomly assigned to receive the experimental session (5-min breaks every 20 min) first with the control session second, and the other half received the control first and the experimental session second. The results showed that 75% of participants completed more checks during the experimental session than during the control session and the difference was statistically significant. Most participants took more unprogrammed break time during control sessions compared with experimental sessions. Implications for future research and the value of work breaks are discussed.

Identifying Video Game Preferences Among Adults Interested in Quitting Smoking Cigarettes: Survey Study.

BACKGROUND: Smoking is the most prevalent cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Although most individuals who smoke express a desire to quit smoking, only a small percentage are successful. Serious games have become popular in health sectors as a potential avenue for delivering a scalable treatment that is both accessible and engaging for the smoking population. Several smoking cessation games have already been developed, but these games feature a broad range of gameplay elements and are not necessarily based on existing video game preferences in the general or smoking population. OBJECTIVE: To better inform treatment development, this study aims to evaluate video game genre preferences among treatment-seeking individuals who smoke (N=473). METHODS: Participants responded to a screening survey to enroll in a larger, serious game intervention for smoking cessation. During this screening survey, participants were asked to disclose their favorite video games, which resulted in 277 unique game titles. These titles were coded for genre categories based on publisher listings and game features. The genres were then analyzed for the frequency of reporting overall and across age groups. RESULTS: Action, Role-Playing, and Action-Adventure were the most reported genres among adults aged ≤34 years; Action, Action-Adventure, and Logic were the most reported genres among adults aged 35-44 years; and Logic and Action were the most reported genres among adults aged ≥45 years. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that treatment-seeking individuals who smoke have different game preferences across age groups, and the data provide novel information to inform the development of future serious games targeting the smoking population that are tailored to the preferences of their age group. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03929003; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03929003.

Stepping Up: An Evaluation of Social Comparison of Physical Activity During Fitbit Challenges.

The current set of within-subject, single-case design studies examined how exposure to social comparison information may impact physical activity in sedentary individuals. In Study 1, participants (N = 6) were exposed to two Fitbit challenges, one with a physically active confederate and another with a sedentary confederate. Each challenge phase lasted 7 days, during which participants were able to compare their daily steps to the assigned confederate on a ranked leaderboard, received notifications if their cumulative steps were surpassed by the confederate, and a notification indicating if they won at the conclusion of each challenge (i.e., active confederate in challenge one then sedentary confederate in challenge two, or vice versa). Study 2 replicated the procedures used in Study 1 but controlled for the distance between confederate and participant daily steps (N = 4). In Study 3, participants (N = 4) were exposed to the same confederate twice to evaluate potential order effects. Results showed that physical activity increased for most participants, but the direction and magnitude of effects differed across participants, challenge type, and order of confederate exposure. The factors producing differential responding to the Fitbit challenges, and the implications for future research on the effects of competition and social comparison on behavior, are discussed.

Varying reactions to feedback and their effects on observer accuracy and feedback omission.

The effectiveness of performance feedback depends on many factors, including accuracy and repeated delivery over time. Previous research has suggested that requiring the delivery of performance feedback may result in less accurate observations and feedback during subsequent observations. The current study evaluated whether different reactions (i.e., positive, neutral, or negative) to feedback would affect the accuracy of subsequent observations or the delivery of feedback. Forty-five participants were assigned to 1 of 3 reactions groups and they were instructed to observe and record the safety performance of a confederate during a baseline condition. Following 2 baseline sessions, participants were instructed to deliver feedback and the confederate reacted to the feedback according to the assigned condition for 4 sessions. Results provide evidence that positive reactions maintain observation accuracy and the provision of feedback, while both neutral and negative reactions decrease observation accuracy and result in frequent omission of feedback.

Behavioral strategies for reducing disease transmission in the workplace.

The coronavirus pandemic highlighted that workplaces may serve as a hub of disease transmission if proper precautions are not enacted. The Centers for Disease Control recommends several strategies for decreasing the spread of illnesses in the workplace, including a) promoting proper hand hygiene, b) cleaning and sanitizing the work area, c) encouraging sick employees to stay home, d) personal protective equipment, and, e) social distancing. Research suggests that instructions are often not sufficient to change work behaviors, and behavioral interventions may be needed. Thus, the present paper reviews existing research that informs the implementation of behavioral strategies to reduce the spread of disease in the workplace, and makes recommendations for organizations to protect employees, clients, and customers. Intervention components such as training, prompts, the reduction of response effort, clear workplace policies, feedback, and consequences are discussed, and practical recommendations and suggestions for future research are provided.