Finance staffers are under a lot of pressure. How do you reduce that stress? Well, you can direct them to your EAP, come up with a new small perk — or show them some cat videos.
You heard that right. Watching cat videos at work isn’t simply a time-waster. The activity actually has a number of proven benefits.
At least that’s what a recent study by the University of Indiana is claiming. The study asked 7,000 people how watching cat videos impacted their mood.
‘Can’t ignore Internet cats anymore’
If you’re wondering why a University would commission such a study, here’s assistant professor Jessica Gall Myrick’s logical explanation for the research:
“Some people may think watching online cat videos isn’t a serious enough topic for academic research, but the fact is that it’s one of the most popular uses of the Internet today. If we want to better understand the effects the Internet may have on us as individuals and on society, then researchers can’t ignore Internet cats anymore. We all have watched a cat video online, but there is really little empirical work done on why so many of us do this, or what effects it might have on us. As a media researcher and online cat video viewer, I felt compelled to gather some data about this pop culture phenomenon.”
The results: The bulk of respondents said that the videos bolstered both energy and morale. Plus, many folks said that just putting a cat clip on relieved their work-related stress.