My fabulous friend Sara Grace recently wrote a blog post inspired by a study of how men and women behave differently at work.
Some statistics cited:
- Men are 25% more likely to take breaks throughout the day for personal activities
- 7% more likely to take a walk
- 5% more likely to go out to lunch
- 35% more likely to take breaks ‘just to relax.’
On mygreenlight.com, Sara responds:
Why don’t women do this? Because we think we’re not allowed to – we’re at work. Unlike boys, we’re brought up to be orderly and pleasing, and please we do, by being brilliant, bien sur, but also through means that can hurt us: multitasking, working ourselves to death, slavishly obeying our perfectionist impulses meanwhile cutting other corners that shouldn’t be cut.
So ladies, by all the power vested in me by, well, me, I give you permission to take walks. To go out to lunch. To take breaks JUST TO RELAX!
Do you think the men at your workplace take more breaks for themselves than women?
Do you make time during your workday for personal activities, walks or lunch?
How does your workplace treat people who take breaks during the day?
3 Comments
Sara Grace
Hi! I’ve been asking everyone what they think of that statistic too – I’ve gotten mixed responses. I definitely noticed this in my last workplace – but who knows, it’s subjective.
Earlier in my career I had this feeling that I needed to absolutely honor every minute of my employer’s time – that’s what they’re paying me for, right? And I definitely see it as being part of my natural inclination to please the powers that be – but that honestly may be as much an eldest-child thing as a girl thing.
In any case, at some point a while I realized, what they’re paying me for is to make the most of my position, and to do more, better, than anyone else. How I get that done is up to me – and it certainly involves managing my energy, sometimes with breaks, sometimes not.
Kristen
I think for many women – we spent all of our “down” time taking care of other things – doctor’s appointments, household details, kid events, etc…so there is no “free” time left for the breaks. I once considered taking up smoking, because all those people just standing around, breathing deeply, seemed like a nice break in the day. Of course I thought better of it…since I had errands to run!
Colleen Newvine Tebeau
Kristen, my anecdotal evidence matches what you describe — many of my girlfriends and female coworkers seem to be the ones responsible for taking kids to doctor’s appointments, for example, or for rearranging their schedule when the kids are off school. I see them spending work time coordinating with the cleaning lady or babysitter, planning weddings, vacations or family visits, etc.
So I’d throw out the hypothesis that women might not take a walk or just relax as often — but maybe they under report how often they’re taking breaks for personal activities out of guilt, as Sara describes the desire to please?
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