Think taking five minutes away from work reduces productivity? Research shows the opposite. Learn why movement breaks improve focus, performance and reduce burnout.
Why Your Staff Are Too Busy to Take Five Minutes… That’s the Problem
If your employees genuinely don’t have five minutes to stand up, stretch or walk around, you don’t have a time management problem. You have a workplace culture problem.
That might sound uncomfortable.
But it’s one of the biggest warning signs I see when working with organisations.
When people feel guilty about taking a short movement break, grabbing a glass of water or walking to speak to a colleague instead of emailing them, they’re often working in an environment where busyness has become a badge of honour.
The irony?
That culture is usually making everyone less productive.
The Productivity Myth That’s Costing Organisations Thousands
For years we’ve been taught that productivity means staying glued to our desks.
Power through.
Skip lunch.
Work longer.
Answer emails immediately.
The problem is, your brain doesn’t work like your inbox.
It isn’t designed to stay focused for hours without recovery.
Attention, decision-making, creativity and concentration all decline when we sit and work continuously without giving our brains and bodies a chance to reset.
Yet many organisations still unintentionally reward this behaviour.
What Does the Research Actually Say?
This isn’t about encouraging people to do less work.
It’s about helping them do better work.
A 2025 systematic review analysing 18 workplace studies found that simple computer reminders encouraging employees to take regular movement breaks reduced workplace sitting time and increased daily steps. Researchers concluded that these prompts are an effective, scalable way to reduce sedentary behaviour in office workers.
Another systematic review found that taking active microbreaks of just a minute or two every 30 minutes can reduce musculoskeletal discomfort, improve mental wellbeing, reduce fatigue and stress, without reducing productivity.
Even more compelling, a large 2026 study involving more than 19,000 adults found that taking a five-minute movement break every hour offered the best balance between improving mood, reducing fatigue and maintaining productivity. Participants reported no reduction in work performance and, in many cases, modest improvements in engagement and perceived productivity.
The evidence is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Movement isn’t a distraction from work.
It’s a performance strategy.
Why This Matters for Burnout Prevention
Burnout rarely happens because someone suddenly has one busy day.
It happens because recovery never catches up with demand.
When employees spend hours sitting in the same position, concentrating intensely and ignoring signals from their bodies to move, drink, breathe or reset, stress accumulates.
Shoulders tighten.
Breathing becomes shallow.
Concentration drops.
Decision fatigue increases.
Small mistakes become more likely.
People push harder to compensate.
Then wonder why they feel exhausted by 3pm.
Those five minutes they didn’t think they had?
They’re often the five minutes that could have prevented the afternoon slump altogether.
It’s Not About Exercise
Whenever I talk about Movement Snacks®, people often imagine sweaty workouts or stretching sessions in lycra.
That’s not what I’m talking about.
A Movement Snack might simply be:
- Walking while taking a phone call.
- Twenty bodyweight squats before opening Outlook.
- Standing up during a Teams meeting.
- Shoulder rolls between emails.
- Walking to refill your water bottle.
- Stretching while waiting for the kettle to boil.
- Using the stairs instead of the lift.
Tiny moments.
Big return.
The goal isn’t fitness.
The goal is keeping your brain and body performing at their best throughout the day.
Leaders Set the Culture
One of the biggest barriers isn’t time.
It’s permission.
If leaders never leave their desks…
Answer emails at midnight…
Skip lunch…
Boast about working through holidays…
Employees notice.
Culture isn’t created by wellbeing posters.
It’s created by what leaders consistently model.
If people feel guilty about taking five minutes to move, they probably won’t admit when they’re overwhelmed either.
And that’s where burnout begins to take hold.
A Better Question
Instead of asking:
“How can we get people to work harder?”
Ask:
“What helps people perform at their best for longer?”
They’re very different questions.
The organisations getting ahead aren’t squeezing every last drop from their people.
They’re creating environments where high performance is sustainable.
My Challenge to You
Tomorrow morning, before you open your inbox, stand up and move for just 60 seconds.
Then repeat that every hour.
Not because it’s good for your wellbeing.
Because it’s good for your performance.
And if your workplace tells you you’re too busy to take five minutes…
That’s exactly why you need them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should employees take movement breaks?
Current evidence suggests that a five-minute movement break every hour offers an excellent balance between health benefits, improved mood and productivity.
Do movement breaks reduce productivity?
No. Research consistently shows that short movement breaks either maintain or slightly improve perceived productivity, engagement and concentration while reducing fatigue.
What are Movement Snacks?
Movement Snacks are short, simple bouts of movement lasting between 30 seconds and five minutes that fit naturally into the working day. They help reduce prolonged sitting, improve energy, posture and focus, and support sustainable workplace performance.
Final Thought
The organisations that outperform everyone else in the next decade won’t necessarily be the ones with the smartest technology.
They’ll be the ones that understand a simple truth:
High-performing teams don’t need fewer breaks. They need better ones.
