Taking Micro-breaks at Work: Effects of Watching Funny Short-Form Videos on Subjective Experience, Physiological Stress, and Task Performance

Abstract

As short-form video applications have become popular recently, watching short-form videos as micro-breaks is common during leisure time at work. Short-form comedies are the most popular category of short-form video. This study conducted a laboratory study to examine the effects of watching funny short-form videos during micro-breaks at work on participants’ subjective experience (i.e., self-reported mood and task engagement willingness), physiological stress (indexed by heart rate and heart rate variability), and task performance. For comparison, another two kinds of micro-break activity (i.e., listening to music and watching a documentary clip) were introduced. The results revealed that watching short-form videos significantly improved participants’ mood and task engagement willingness, relieved physiological stress, and maintained task performance. Among the three kinds of micro-break activity, watching short-form videos was found to be the most effective in relieving physiological stress. We also discussed the implications of the role of watching short-form videos in work-related wellbeing.