Let’s imagine a scenario where, in a hotel or restaurant, chefs or waiters have to put in extra work hours as the customers demand. Though stressful for them, they are left with no other option. Similarly, in BPO industries, employees have to work extra hours along with their fixed hours based on international client timing. Working such long hours causes an impact on physical and mental health. Here, break-shift work allows employees to take a flexi break during their slow work hours or when they have worked for long hours.
What is the Break Shift?
A break-shift schedule is a work arrangement in which the employee’s working hours are divided into two or more phases by multiple unpaid breaks. However, the overall work hours remain the same. Many companies consider it an alternative to typical 9-to-5 work hours or rotating shift schedules.
One question must arise: Don’t employees follow the same schedule already for their daily office hours, divided between lunch and tiffin breaks? Well, though it seems so, not quite. The standard lunch hour break is fixed for all employees every working day. However, in break shifts, employees can take unpaid breaks at any time during their designated work hours by ensuring working rest hours within that day.
Who uses the Break Shift Schedule?
The 2024 work trends focus on 24/7 work assistance instead of 9 to 5 fixed work hours. This shift schedule becomes evident in many industries, ensuring employees work flexibly by choosing their break times. This type of job autonomy is a key aspect of the new work trends. However, in such cases, predefined work hours never decrease; employees have to complete their fixed work hours for that particular day.
The shift schedule also helps the HRs streamline the overall payroll management by automating payroll on an hourly, daily or monthly basis. Although the shift schedule is not so evident in every industry, yet it is dedicated to some specific industry workers, those are,
1. Retail or Hospitality Workers
For retail and hospitality workers, the break shift is a game-changer. It allows short breaks to employees who have just provided seamless services during demanding hours or are just going to attend busy hours. In hospitality, the break shift is considered mainly for the front desk attendants, servers, chefs, and housekeeping staff, who often cover the rotation shift and need to recharge themselves by having a quick meal, relaxing in designated staff areas, or addressing personal needs. The break shift ensures that the guest experience is not compromised.
2. Manufacturing Employees
Many manufacturing companies face challenges in calculating employee attendance. At first, there are no particular work hours, and the entire process of manufacturing products is based on demand-supply. So, it is pretty apparent that workers must perform during demand hours and may take rest during slow hours. Hence, a break shift is indeed essential for every employee who works in the manufacturing industry.
Multiple split breaks help employees feel relaxed and rejuvenated, enabling them to perform actively. Nowadays, various manufacturing companies offer AI-powered punching systems that accurately record employee working hours and break durations.
3. Healthcare Professional
In the healthcare sector, the break shift is not just a convenience—it’s a necessity. Healthcare professionals and supportive experts work on demand and generally follow rotational shifts. Additionally, they often have to be available when something urgent needs to be done. The break-shift system allows them to take necessary breaks without disrupting the service, ensuring they can perform at their best when it matters most.
4. Call Center Agents
Workers in international BPO companies or calling agents in the sales departments of different companies work around the clock worldwide. Here, the split shifts work at its best. The provided flexi break helps the employees rest during slow hours and work their best during active hours. Furthermore, using the split break approach, the company can quickly operate performance or attendance data-related mismatches using the HRMS software.
Additionally, in the era of remote work, Break shift is mandatory, as it automatically records remote employees’ working hours and break minutes, allowing them to work flexibly across time zones while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
5. Corporate Employees ( IT Specialist)
Corporate work culture has just changed the world’s job habits. Employees, especially in IT industries, work around the clock or follow rotation work schedules. They often attend overtime to be paid more, which affects their mental and physical health. Break shifts reduce work stress in this demanding environment, making them energetic to work further. Using split shifts, employees can work flexibly, take breaks, or take a short time off to attend to their personal belongings.
Moreover, if we talk about the employers’ side, the approach adjusts to irregular punch patterns, ensuring fair and accurate working hour calculations for every employee working around the clock.
How does a Break Shift Schedule work?
A break shift mainly divides employees’ working shifts by adding unpaid time off for some minute or hour. The break shift can be divided into multiple units depending on the organisation’s policy. Let’s take an example,
In corporate industries, the sales and marketing team is often considered within the break-shift work schedule. In general, Indian sales professionals work on a 24* 7 basis, and they must stay energized and proactive during evening and night shifts when engaging with Western clients. Suppose their shift hour might start at 7 pm, and they work until 6 am, usually getting a fixed break of 2 hours with a predefined time. With the help of break hours, they can smoothly split their breaks by individual 1 hours, each according to their slow-demand hours, and get relaxed to active again. Though according to companies policy, they only avail 2 hours break, yet for the slit approach they utilise it flexibly.
Types of Break Shifts
➔ Work Intervals
According to company policy, employees often take two flexible hours as unpaid time off, working short intervals of 15 minutes or 30 minutes every two hours as required. This minimises employee boredom and maximizes their effort for better productivity.
➔ Longer Breaks for Meals
Though taking longer breaks, like lunch or tiffin breaks, looks like a general work shift, a split-hour approach allows employees to take their long breaks midway through the day. Many companies even consider providing extended breaks (30-60 minutes) for meals or leisure.
➔ Staggered Timing
Though the break shift ensures flexible breaks, many companies enact split break hour-related rules, where breaks are scheduled at staggered intervals for teams to ensure uninterrupted business operations.
➔ Cultural Break Shift
Cultural break shifts ensure a short break for prayers for prayers during working hours. Accommodating time for cultural or spiritual practices, ensuring inclusivity and respect for diverse employee needs.
What are the benefits of integrating Break Shift Schedules?
Different agencies, such as those in the manufacturing, fashion, healthcare, and other hospitality sectors, require 24* 7 employee assistance. For employees, continuous strict, long work hours can become monotonous; they can become burned out and bored with the constant work schedule. Here is the efficiency of the break shift schedule. This section will highlight the benefits of integrating a break schedule.
- Stress Reduction
- Improve Physical Health
- Creative Outcomes
- Obeying labour Law and amendment
- Reduced Errors and Mistakes
- Better Productivity
1. Stress Reduction
A break shift splits the regular work hours by adding a short break every three or four long work hours. Employees can take a break and re-energise physically and mentally for further office work. They also utilize the time to attend to various personal activities, such as stretching, meditation, casual social interactions, rest, or spending time with friends and family. This ultimately initiates a better work-life balance.
2. Improve Physical Health
Sitting or standing for long periods may result in chronic health problems, like eyesight issues from long screen hours, leg injury, back pain, and poor posture. In such cases, a regular short-term break is essential to avoid getting physically sick and strengthen them for work continuation. Besides, regular breaks encourage employees to move around, reducing the risks of sedentary behaviour.
Some organizations even schedule wellness activities or health checkup camps during break shifts. These activities include yoga sessions, stress management workshops, and on-site health screenings to enhance employee well-being.
3. Creative Outcomes
A break shift is a period of free time during which employees can feel relaxed. It helps them generate fresh ideas and innovate for satisfactory outcomes. Within the split break, employees step away from monotonous task practices and engage in deep thought or have casual conversations with team members or colleagues to bring new perspectives and insights. After returning to work, employees become more creative and can put extra effort into problem-solving and better outcomes.
4. Obeying Labour Law and Amendment
As regulations mandate, break shifts help organizations comply with labour laws and amendments by ensuring employees are provided adequate rest periods during their workday. Many labour laws specify requirements for meal breaks, short rest intervals, or maximum working hours without a pause. Implementing structured break schedules demonstrates the organisation’s commitment to adhering to these rules, reducing the risk of legal penalties. Additionally, by aligning workplace policies with updated amendments, companies maintain ethical labour practices, safeguard employee rights, and foster a culture of fairness and compliance.
5. Reduced Errors and Mistakes
Long-hour work schedules can create a monotonous and fatigued environment, leading to confusion and initiating mistakes. Long working hours affect employees’ minds, they start to loose focus on target achievement and self-improvement, on the other hand, the product quality becomes distressed.
However, a short break can recharge employees and allow them to engage in tedious work practices. Multiple break shifts are used for casual conversations, which improve teamwork and streamline collaboration. The resulting unity in the team can significantly boost productivity and, most importantly, reduce errors within work outcomes.
6. Better Productivity
A break shift splits the work hours with a minimum of 2 to 3 unpaid breaks, relieving employees from continuous work and scope to get recharged. The approach improves focus and efficiency and also leads to a higher-quality output. A small tea break every 3 hours leaves employees feeling energetic and confident in the quality of their work.
Working continuously without breaks can lead to fatigue and reduced performance, while short, regular pauses restore energy and mental clarity. A short break every 3 hours provides a one-stop solution for employees to feel energetic and maintain their well-being while staying engaged in their work.
Why does an Organization need Break Shift?
We have already discussed the benefits of integrating the Break Shift software. We will discuss how managers, HR professionals, and employees can be satisfied.
➔ For Managers
Break Shifts enhance team performance by eliminating employee burnout and monotony, enabling managers to experience better outcomes. Managers use the break shift to eliminate the risk of work overload without losing productive employee hours. Additionally, attendance software with add-on split-hours facilities help managers track employees’ hourly and daily attendance tracking and generate reports accordingly.
➔ For HR Professionals
Though Indian labour laws and amendments strictly prohibit long work hours, employees often push their limits and work extra hours to achieve career growth or ensure exceptional product outcomes. However, companies that overlook such practices face penalties for violating government regulations.
In such a scenario, HR professionals break the long work hour practices by initiating break shifts. A structured break system demonstrates the organization’s commitment to commencing work-life balance and experiencing employee satisfaction while calculating retention rates. HR also benefits from fewer cases of absenteeism related to stress or fatigue.
➔ For Employees
Break shifts allow employees to rest, recharge, and refocus on work. A small break every 2 to 3 hours helps employees remain stress-free and focus on enhancing creativity for ultimate work outcomes. Moreover, when an employee gets a split break, he feels valued and supported within the workplace, which leads to higher morale and overall engagement.
End Note
A Break Shift is more than just a pause in a work day; it is a strategic investment in people and productivity. A split break not only assists the employees in coming to the rhythm of the work but also helps the manager stay within Indian labour law and amendments. If we consider employee efforts as the identity of brilliance, then providing sufficient breaks is regarded as their supplement.
FAQs on Break Shift
1. What is the typical duration of a Break in a Shift?
A typical break during a work shift lasts 15-30 minutes and occurs every 3 to 4 hours.
2. Can employers deny Break Shifts?
If the break-shift is not part of the company policy, employers can easily deny it.
3. Are employees allowed to leave the workplace during a Break Shift?
If there is an allowance to leave the workplace during the break shift, employees can easily take it in company policy.
4. How do Break Shifts impact productivity and employee well-being?
Break shifts can help employees reduce the monotony of their daily work. They can take short breaks after long working hours, which allows them to feel fresh and encourages them to contribute more.
Additionally, regular breaks improve mental clarity and help develop creativity. They also increase job satisfaction, creating a healthier, more engaged, and more efficient workforce.
5. How are Break Shifts managed for hotel staff working long hours?
Hotel staff break shifts are managed with staggered schedules, ensuring uninterrupted service while providing time to rest and recharge. Long shifts include meal breaks and additional intervals to prevent fatigue. Managers use rotation systems and scheduling tools to balance workloads, comply with labour laws, and maintain service quality and employee well-being.
