By Jennie Latson

Why Did We Stop Taking Breaks When We Started Working Remotely?

“You’re on mute” might be the Zoom quote of the year, but on Slack — at least around lunchtime — it seems to be: “Grabbing a quick bite.” 

That was the daily refrain I heard from colleagues at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, where I edit the school’s alumni magazine, after we started working remotely in March. And while we were all very busy doing very important jobs, it’s not like we were developing a coronavirus vaccine. Was our work really so urgent that we couldn’t afford to take more than a few minutes for the mid-day meal? And why were we all “grabbing” our lunches? Were we afraid that if we loosened our grip, someone might snatch them out of our hands? 

This is how downtime feels in general these days: snatched away. While working from home has eliminated our commutes and given us the freedom to work in our pajamas, it’s also blurred the lines between work and life — and deprived us of the ability to leave the office behind, physically and mentally. A May survey by the career website Monster found that half of remote workers said they were experiencing burnout, but roughly the same number weren’t planning to take any days off to decompress. 

That’s a big mistake, says Charlotte Fritz, a professor of industrial and organizational psychology at Portland State University. For one thing, she says, working remotely during a global health crisis is not the same as working from home under normal circumstances. There are additional demands at home — like educating your kids, if you’re a parent — along with heightened anxieties. 

Even when we’re not in the middle of a deadly pandemic, Fritz says it’s crucial to our wellbeing to attain what she and other researchers call “psychological detachment” from work. “By ‘psychological detachment,’ we mean mentally letting go of work when we leave the workplace,” she says. “Currently, some of us have overlap between the physical workspace and home, and it might make it a lot harder to detach.”

Detaching requires us to take breaks, whether they’re multiple-day vacations or short moments of meditation or relaxation during the day. But the health crisis itself is making it harder to take the downtime we need to deal with the stress it’s causing. Fewer of us are planning vacations because we don’t feel safe traveling. And the economic uncertainties of the pandemic are adding to a sense of pressure to be a perfect employee: highly productive and always on. 

Remote workers tend to take fewer breaks in general, in or out of a pandemic, in part because we can’t demonstrate our work ethic in the same ways from home that we could in an office, explains Minjae Kim, an organizational behavior professor at Rice Business. “Because our interactions are so limited, we have fewer opportunities to prove our commitment and our value,” Kim says. “One way to do that is to show that we’re working overtime, or by staying on Zoom all the time.” 

The latter is more common in Korea, where Kim has studied workplace behavior. The pressure to demonstrate your commitment to your company — your willingness to make sacrifices for the sake of the organization — is greater in Korean workplace culture, and the pandemic has magnified that, Kim says. 

“Since the pandemic began, people are pressured to keep their camera on all the time, even if they’re not in a meeting,” he says. “It’s a little more of an extreme setting, where signaling commitment is more intense.”

The problem is that changes to our work culture — including the “always on” mentality many of us are feeling now — have a tendency to become ingrained even after the crisis that provoked them has passed. That could mean that remote work sticks around long after the pandemic subsides, which may be a good thing overall. But it could also mean that if we let our lunch breaks slip from our grasp now, we’ll never be able to grab hold of them again. 

Lunch breaks play a particularly vital role when it comes to maintaining our mental stamina, says John P. Trougakos, an organizational behavior professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough. In an aptly titled study, “Lunch Breaks Unpacked,” Trougakos and his colleagues found that being able to disconnect from work at lunchtime, for an activity entirely of your own choosing, was linked to a reduction of fatigue at the end of the workday and improved employee performance and wellbeing. 

“We have a fixed amount of mental energy, just like we do physical energy,” he says. “When you don’t have a break, you become less and less efficient, and it becomes more stressful. That stress accumulates throughout the day, and it’s emotionally exhausting. If it accumulates day after day, week after week, that’s how you get burnout.”

Assuming remote work does linger after the pandemic ends, we’re going to have to find ways to make it sustainable — without burning out the workforce, Trougakos says. 

“Remote work can be a huge benefit for people. We tracked 500 Canadian workers at the start of the pandemic for 12 weeks, and 83 percent didn’t want to go back to the way things were. They were adamant that ‘the way things were’ wasn’t working either,” he says. “Most people preferred a hybrid system where they had the freedom to go in some days and they could work from home some days.”

Luckily, there are ways to make remote work more workable, Trougakos says. “If remote workers structure their day well, they can find extra time for breaks. They don’t have their commute time anymore; they can use that time to take a walk or get some exercise. They have, in theory, more flexibility to plan out their best productivity windows. That could mean if you’re a night owl, you might schedule a block of work in the evening. But that doesn’t mean work your full workday AND work the night shift.” 

Managers, meanwhile, should be firm about their expectations for the quality of work being done — and flexible about when it happens, he says. 

“Are your employees getting the things done that they need to get done in a high-quality way? Then leave them alone and give them the freedom to make their own schedule,” he says. “Managers need to create some time for their employees to go offline, not just at the end of the day but during the day. Lunch is lunch; maybe you encourage coffee breaks in the morning and afternoon. If you’re really progressive, build in a half-hour nap break at 2 p.m. and watch them come back energized and productive at the end of the day.”

Managers can also encourage employees to take more downtime just by assuring them that they are valued and that their jobs are not in jeopardy, Kim says. Without that pressure to prove themselves, workers not only breathe easier but also perform better. And over time, as the workforce becomes increasingly remote, expectations will adjust and we’ll likely come up with new ways to demonstrate our commitment to our work — while still finding time for a leisurely lunch.  

“It has to be managed, though,” Trougakos says. “We plunged into the pandemic with no preparation, no planning and no structure. It was chaos in a lot of ways. Now employers are seeing that there’s only so long you can maintain a feverish pace. As we come to a realization of what the new normal is, there will be issues that come up that maybe we didn’t expect, and companies will need to adapt.” 

Jennifer Latson is an editor at Rice Business and the author of “The Boy Who Loved Too Much,” a nonfiction book about a genetic disorder that is sometimes called the opposite of autism. 

Students, alumni join Houston artist to create community project during Owl Together Week

Award-winning Houston muralist GONZO247 believes everyone has an inner artist — and the new 40-foot community mural he painted with Rice students and alumni is one way to bring out that artistic energy.

The new Rice-inspired public art project also served as a centerpiece of Owl Together Week — a virtual celebration that combined the annual homecoming and family weekends into one, big, mostly online event — and demonstrated the endurance of that creative spirit in spite of the pandemic.

Over the last week, volunteers from the Rice community signed up for slots to paint alongside GONZO247, three at a time, each person painting within one 10-foot section under a row of live oaks. Together, they completed a vibrant mural outside the Provisional Campus Facilities (PCFs) that was unveiled Nov. 1.

The final piece includes images of the Sallyport and Sammy the Owl among other Rice-related items, and is the work of dozens of Rice community members. The reveal included a virtual talk by GONZO247, real name Mario Figueroa Jr., the mural artist and founder of Aerosol Warfare Studios.

“I think deep down inside, every human being has this need to create and do something with that energy,” he said.

“If you just give them an opportunity, if you just give someone a space or a tool or something creative to do, most people will take you up on that offer,” he said. “And the idea with this mural is that we’re here to have fun. We’re here to put something together collaboratively.”

GONZO247 created the mural using ideas and input solicited via social media by the Alumni Relations office and submitted by the Rice community during a weeklong window in late September. Not surprisingly, Beer Bike, Valhalla and Willy’s Pub were also among the images students and alumni said best represented Rice.

Jones College senior Jefferson Ren has long followed the city’s active street art scene; he even wrote a paper about it for a course on the sociology of Houston. And as a big fan of GONZO247’s work, Ren was one of the first students to sign up for a mural painting slot.

“Gonzo is probably too humble to admit it, but I feel like he’s really been like a pioneer in the Houston mural scene,” said Ren, who worked on a section of the mural featuring the Sallyport. Although GONZO247 has designed iconic murals for downtown Houston, NRG Stadium, the George R. Brown Convention Center and the Saint Arnold brewery, this is his first mural at Rice.

“Having this is definitely a huge added benefit that makes me really happy about the campus,” Ren said. “I think it’ll be like a really great addition to the city.”

The slots to paint alongside GONZO247 went quickly as Rice students leapt at an excuse to spend time pursuing something creative, and outdoors to boot.

Frances Gallego is pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree at the Jones Graduate School of Business but she’s also an artist on the side, working mostly with wood and epoxy. Graffiti and street art are an important part of the culture in her hometown of Bogotá, Colombia, so Gallego was excited for the opportunity to add some color to the Rice campus too and signed up for a slot right away.

GONZO247, she said, “is a big part of Houston and making art a part of our everyday lives, and I wanted to add to that.”

Plus, Gallego said, “he’s so nice and so encouraging. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing on the painting, he’s like, ‘You’re doing a great job!’”

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Even Rice President David Leebron and his family pulled on some gloves and picked up the paintbrushes one sunny afternoon.

“We’ve got a gorgeous day, perfect temperature, nice breeze blowing,” Leebron said. “It’s just a day where you can turn your thoughts away from both the cares of the world and maybe even the cares of your classes, and do something a little bit creative and a little bit spontaneous.”

This and other Rice Public Art installations that have already taken place, he said, are a great way to reflect the spirit of the campus and enliven it with novel projects — including one new, striking community mural in GONZO247’s signature tones of cheerful yellow and bright turquoise.

“This was a great idea,” Leebron said. “I can’t take any credit for it, but it was a great idea.”

Eric Yuan, CEO and founder of Zoom, will participate in a virtual discussion hosted by Rice University’s Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie) Nov. 10 as a part of the university’s President’s Lecture Series. Yuan will share his entrepreneurial journey since 2011 leading the video communications company from startup to industry leader and discuss what’s next for Zoom’s role in education.

Rice is recognized as a hub for innovation in entrepreneurship education and has the No. 1 graduate entrepreneurship program in the U.S.

Registration for this free event is required at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-zoom-ceo-and-founder-eric-yuan-tickets-124340613121.

The event is presented in partnership with Rice’s Chao Center for Asian Studies.

The President’s Lecture Series, which is sponsored by the Office of the President and supported by the J. Newton Rayzor Lecture Fund, was created to enrich the intellectual life of the Houston community by bringing to the Rice campus “celebrities of substance,” speakers of both high intellectual distinction and broad public appeal.

Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business will host the fifth annual and first virtual Diversity and Inclusion Conference Oct. 30. With racial equity and social justice at the forefront of public discourse, this year’s conference provides a forum to discuss how these issues impact the workplace.

The annual conference is designed to increase awareness, dialogue and skill-building around issues of diversity and inclusion as they relate to the business world, where consideration of diverse perspectives is a critical leadership skill.

This year’s conference includes a keynote address by Rice Business alumna Subha Barry, president of Working Mother Media; a panel of senior executives discussing how they lead in challenging times; and a panel of young alumni sharing how they are influencing change within their organizations.

Panelists will include Sonya Reed, senior vice president of human resources and corporate communications at Phillips 66; Donald Bowers, vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Houston Branch; Nick Tran, senior manager of corporate social responsibility at Schlumberger; Debra Langford, executive director of business development and advancing Black pathways at JPMorgan Chase; and alumna Julian Duncan, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The virtual conference titled “Sparking Success: The Intersection of Business and Diversity and Inclusion” will take place 9:30 a.m.-2p.m. CDT on Friday, Oct. 30.

The event is open to everyone online, but registration is required. 

Conference Website Register

Owl Have You Know

SEASON 1, EPISODE 2

Host Christine Dobbyn talks with Aaron Knape ’08, cofounder of sEATz, an in-seat food delivery app for live sports and entertainment events. Aaron discusses the height of the pandemic in the U.S. when most sporting events were cancelled and fans were not allowed in stadiums, as well as developments with sEATz as venues reopen to the public.

Subscribe to Owl Have You Know on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.