Table 1.

Summary table of illustrative quotes

Theme one: Outside space and movement

Organizational

Outside space time: “I do make the most of lunchtimes to get outside though which i wouldn’t do at work as i would lunch with colleagues instead” “When I was physically going to the office I would meet a friend most lunch times and take a walk outside for at least 30 min—some days now I don’t leave the house!”

Movement away/at desk: “It’s a different environment in work as there are different places to take a break, and different people to talk to.” “I can feel ‘desk-bound’ because all my work and meetings are at the desk. It can be difficult to find time for breaks or to go outside. I can go all day without leaving the house.” “At work I would take a 'rest' break between meetings as I would move from my desk and between meeting rooms, or even have a moving meeting. Now when all meetings are done through my laptop I have no need to move from my desk, and often on busy days can have 3 or 4 h at my desk without moving”

Exercise: “Normalise flexible working in the office setting so it carries through to home working. For example, if my exercise class of choice is at 9am or 2 pm, why should it be that I cannot go and return again?”

Personal

Outside space time: “I try to eat lunch and take short walk outside at lunchtime everyday to get some fresh air and movement.” “I wander round the garden, feed the fish, or look at wildlife and it calms me down and lets me stretch my legs”

Movement away/at desk: “The other thing I can do is continue to get some fresh air even if for 10 min as that really helps me reset my mind.” “Take control of my own work load, effective time management and making sure I do move around and get outside when I can.”

Exercise: “Luckily I had a dog to look after so I've been doing 3 walks a day, one before work, one during a lunch hour (followed by making lunch), then one after work. I often go get up and leave my desk and do some stretches” “Always make an effort to do some form of exercise outside such as walking, running, cycling. This is certainly easier when working from home—can change and shower more easily.” “Try to do my exercise first thing in the morning, then it's done and I can’t put it off later! Possibly take small breaks of 10–15 min rather than looking for 60–90 min to do my 10,000 steps in one go, but it’s more enjoyable to do one bigger walk. Maybe a mixture. Possibly try to meet someone else or have an objective of the exercise. I do try to use my Fitbit to kick me into action to make me take at least 250 steps per hour—it's a lot better than nothing. I should set some exercise objective online like ‘climbing Everest on the staircase’ or ‘walking the Pennine Way’ or something,”

Theme two: Structure of home working

Organizational

workload: “workload expectations from management Agendas are simply incredibly full and we work across all time zones so there isn't a clear lunch break for everyone.” “logistics problems, material shortages and incidents have increased the normal work load and involve needing to talk to and work with others—which is all now tied to a computer”

Length/timing of meetings: “Meetings running over or due to different time zones being early/late, bad connections, find it difficult to switch off at end of the day.” “Back-to-back meetings. The need to be on camera makes it more difficult to sneak off to get a cup of tea during a meeting, but I sometimes do if I’m just listening not speaking. There is no natural start or finish time delineated by travel to/from office so I carry on until I'm finished or run out of steam, unless I arrange other outside appts. Due to “flexible working” and “global working” there are always people trying to contact me.” “Make it the "done thing" to set meetings to finish at 10 min to the hour, so even if you have a full agenda you have built-in gaps in between where you can take a break.” “institutionalise shorter and more effective meetings” “Scheduling meetings should occur during core hours: 9.00–12, 2–5. However meetings shouldn’t be back 2 back as it is but only for 45 min. MAX and this then give 15 min per hour to walk and move”

Personal

Workload: “Thinking I need to finish/ complete things” “Personal pressure to achieve/deliver” “Desire to complete work on the ever-increasing "To Do" list” “working with multiple time zones, high workload”

Length/timing of meetings: “Block out time and make myself go out. Decline meetings that happen over lunch times.” “plan time better. block time in diary to take breaks. get outside and walk—stretch to ensure take good amount of breaks.” “Set boundaries, set specific break times and stick to them—making the team aware that I will be away from my desk then, so to contact me outside of those times.” “Perhaps be more assertive in leaving meetings so that there's a break Continue to check work priorities with my Line Manager; the ever-increasing To Do List also impacts upon potential breaks when working on site and is not limited to working from home”

Theme three: Work environment

Organizational

Others in working space: “Lack of regular interaction with my team makes me feel isolated at home. Too many 'broadcasting' meetings (where I just have to listen to others).” “I'm normally on my own so I don't get to interact with my colleagues but it's also very peaceful to be able to spend time in the garden.”

Functional versus restful breaks: “Usually they are very short and limited for a specific purpose, i.e. go to the toilet or make a drink. If I were at the office, I'd have longer breaks as I'd have informal chats with colleagues when doing so, as well as when moving from one side of the building to the other I'd move/rest more.”

Flexibility of working: “Normalise flexible working in the office setting so it carries through to home working. For example, if my exercise class of choice is at 9am or 2 pm, why should it be that I cannot go and return again?” “Stop micromanaging, develop a good level of trust, and introduce flexible working times. Not to expect a normal working hour day due to external distractions.” “Our organisation has been great re allowing us to work flexible hours. We work internationally so can have meetings at very different times so have a degree of fluidity when it comes to managing working hours. Maintaining this would be great. Letting people know what is and isn't reasonable in terms of acceptable break times.”

Personal

Others in working space: “I also don't want to disturb other family members by taking a break, as they may be in the middle of a meeting—I have no way of telling until I leave my office.” “others in house draw me into problems and conversation wasting time and energy”

Functional versus restful breaks: “They generally feel less like a break as I often end up using them to do a small housework task instead I do make the most of lunchtimes to get outside though which i wouldn't do at work as i would lunch with colleagues instead” “often quickly to grab a tea or coffee from downstairs. Find these are not very restful as I will multi-task, e.g. while the kettle boils I may put a wash on, empty the dishwasher.”

Flexibility of working: “Block out more time in my diary but this is difficult because I try to be flexible (and people clearly can't book meetings if I block out time). I try to pre-book my lunch break as often as I can.”

Theme four: Digital presence

Organizational

Guilt: “Sometimes I worry about leaving my laptop and it looking like I'm not working” “maybe as teams we need to decide on some set break times so you can keep yourself in a routine and not feel guilty about the need to be ever present.” “ensure that it is clear from higher management that breaks are normal and encouraged”

Obligation to be online: “Sometimes feel with Team it displays if you're 'away' and how long you have been away for. I am more conscious of the length of my breaks.” “its hard to take breaks as feel like always need to be present online when at home” “Ensure that all Line Managers are taking regular breaks and that they are fostering a culture with their team that it is ok to take regular breaks and that for everyone's wellbeing it is essential”

Time zone challenges: “Number of meetings and being a global business there is a need to adapt to different times.” “working with Europe and the time difference can mean that UK break times are interrupted.” “Agendas are simply incredibly full and we work across all time zones so there isn't a clear lunch break for everyone.” “Allotted time where no meetings or calls are allowed—wellbeing Wednesdays were good but doesn't work for global teams.” “For me the key thing is that whatever is implemented needs to be almost universal in a way (could be the principle and not the exact time, per se) because otherwise people like us who work with multiple countries cannot really do much.”

Personal

Guilt: “Find it much harder to bring myself to take breaks, hit with a sense of dread and guilt in case it reflects badly on my performance.” “(need to) Feel less guilt about going for walks and enjoy spending breaks on my own” “feeling guilty for taking time away from desk” “personally I want to make sure that i get as much done (or more than before at work). i don’t have much work that i can do away from my desk/ laptop and so feel guilty 'taking time out' even thought I know in theory it should boost my productivity later.” “To set time in our calendars, so we don’t feel guilty of taking breaks working from home” “Ensure you have time planned in the diary for breaks and not accept meetings all day back to back with no breaks. Don't feel guilty for having 5 min in the garden.”

obligation to be online: “its hard to take breaks as feel like always need to be present online when at home” “Not giving myself permission to be kind to myself and the thought that I am somehow not doing full hours if I go out of the house during the day.” “block time out for breaks make sure I go into another room and step away from the computer not bring my coffee up to my desk to drink, but have it downstairs away from my desk encourage team members to take breaks do not instant message someone when you can see they are away from their computer but wait until they are back (eg away on teams messenger ap)” “silence my computer when I’m on a break so I don’t feel I have to immediately respond to teams and emails”

Time zone challenges: “Constant call requests, different time zones makes it hard to prioritise break if it’s the only time someone can do”