A Puzzling Development (and a great microbreak idea!)

I’ve noticed a lot of puzzles popping up in office environments lately – usually off to one side, maybe in a soft-seating area or breakroom, often in a cozy-looking corner. Across many different types of clients, with different office vibes, it seems like puzzle corners are the one thing that everyone is starting to have in common.

According to a quick Google search, a mapmaker named John Spilsbury invented jigsaw puzzles back in the 1700’s, as educational tools for children. While puzzles are still used in child education, they’ve also evolved into a leisure activity, for both children and adults.

How do puzzles relate to ergonomics? Well, they are a really great microbreak idea. We always encourage people to get away from their desks, to move around a bit, and to avoid looking at screens during a microbreak. Puzzles tick all of these boxes. And a puzzle is something that can worked on for as much – or as little – time as the person has available.

Puzzles are also a group activity that doesn’t have to be done as a group. So throughout the day, different employees may stop by to sort pieces or to put a section together, but everyone doesn’t need to be working on it at once. Everyone can come and go as they please, and still feel the accomplishment of finishing something as a group, once the puzzle is done.

In addition to being perfect for microbreaks, and a casual collaborative activity, puzzles can also be beneficial to your employees’ health. Studies have shown that puzzles improve short-term memory and visual-spatial reasoning, help maintain fine-motor skills, and even reduce stress. Sounds like a win-win situation all around!

So, if you have a little extra space, consider adding a puzzle corner for your employees (and yourself!). A couple of soft chairs, a table with plenty of space, and some good lighting – maybe even a plant or two – could make it extra-cozy. But if you don’t have room for all of that, try just placing a puzzle on top of an existing table. Maybe open it and put a couple of pieces together, just to get the ball rolling. You might find yourself coming back again and again, for your own microbreaks - and for all the other benefits that puzzles bring to the table.

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