What do people do at work when they are not working?

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

The purpose of this work project is to explore the activities people engage in while they are at work but not working. Twenty interviews were conducted with young workers from different occupational areas to map out those activities, to understand the reasons why people engage in certain routines and behaviours and what are the consequences for the productivity of the employee and for the company as a whole. The first conclusion is fact that people need some time to exit a role and enter a new role. The second states the importance to break between long periods of work. The third concerns the need to reconcile personal issues and professional lives. And the last conclusion links the need to be in touch with the outside world with the socialization requirement among workers.