Break-taking at work as a collaboratively constructed social activity

The doctoral dissertation examines break-taking at work, drawing on data from both onsite breaks at the workplace and break-taking on virtual platforms. The three articles in the dissertation explore break-taking from different angles, shedding light on how participants orient to the ongoing interactional situation, how they display social curiosity, and how they jointly manage break-taking in interaction. The dissertation mainly utilized a conversation analytic methodology, while also paying attention to the participants’ experiences of break-taking and what they regard important. The data in the study consisted of video-recordings from onsite and online breaks, interviews, and observations. The data is in English and Finnish.

The dissertation shows that break-taking from work is a multifaceted phenomenon that participants jointly create and maintain in interaction. The dissertation illustrates three central themes in break-taking, based on the findings of the articles: co-presence and displays of social solidarity and support, objects and the material environment in break rooms facilitating social encounters, and timely displays of engagement that illustrate the participants’ ongoing orientation to shared break-taking. Further, the analysis shows that participants invest in togetherness in different ways in interaction: by allocating resources to talking instead of drinking coffee when it becomes relevant in interaction, by displaying social curiosity towards co-participants' personal lives during breaks, and by orienting to shared break-taking by inviting newcomers to participate, for example. The dissertation contributes to a further understanding of participants’ social interaction and especially social activity during breaks from work. Break-taking at work is a central aspect of building togetherness in the work community, and therefore it would be important to make sure that there are appropriate possibilities for taking breaks during working hours in terms of time and facilities.

The dissertation was carried out at the unit of English at the University of Oulu: the main funding for the project came from the Eudaimonia Institute’s project Interactional organisation of break-taking activities and social support in a changing workplace environment. The dissertation project was also funded by the Emil Aaltonen Foundation, the Oulu University Scholarship Foundation, the University of Oulu Scholarship Fund and the Finnish Work Environment Fund.