Continuous feedback to promote self-management of rest breaks during computer use

Abstract

Short rest breaks at regular intervals can reduce musculoskeletal discomfort and the risk of repetitive strain injury during intensive computer work, but may seriously disrupt some tasks. As an alternative, two laboratory experiments tested if application of ergonomic principles of feedback control could improve worker self-management of discretionary rest breaks. Undergraduate typists ( N = 31, N = 30) entered lines of randomized words for about 1 h. Typists received scheduled breaks unless their discretionary breaks reached a target level of 30 s every 10 min. Typists in treatment conditions received continuous feedback indicating how their discretionary breaks compared to the target level, but typists in control conditions did not. Feedback in one experiment was task-integrated to reduce distractions. Typists in the feedback conditions controlled discretionary breaks better than controls, and also responded favorably to the continuous feedback. Typists receiving task-integrated feedback reported less task disruption and back discomfort than controls. Mood and cardiac response were unaffected in both studies, but error rates were lower in the feedback condition of one experiment. These results indicate that computer users can utilize continuous feedback about rest break behavior to improve self management of discretionary rest breaks, with no untoward effects on performance, well-being, or user acceptance.