Off-task social breaks and group creativity

This study investigates the effect of off-task breaks, where individuals engage in a collective off-task activity, on group creativity. Using an experimental method comprising 36 groups of 5 individuals, the relationships between different types of off-task group break and performance in creative tasks post-break are explored. When compared to the no-break case, it is seen that off-task breaks, in which all individuals participate in the group activity, lead to more original ideas being generated post-break. On the other hand, individual incubation breaks and self-organizing group breaks, lead to lower levels of post-break idea originality when compared with the no-break case. This research thus highlights the positive benefits of off-task breaks involving full member participation, on the creative process in groups.