Fidget Spinners Might Be Good For You At Work, But There's A Catch

Summer of 2017 has been about the rising temperatures, feminist movements, LGBTQI rights, Trump and world peace; well, on a global level. On the more microbic level of the internet virality syndrome, as I like to call it, there’s something else that has been quite the rage this season. It’s called the Fidget Spinner. It piqued my interest when I heard someone tell me, “I have to buy this to help with my anxiety attacks.” He said this in the way people say they need to start working out more, take their diet more seriously, watch their sugar intake more closely, or start saving for the future. He said it like it was an event that needed to be done already. He said this as he hastily scored through the various options available on Amazon—colours, styles, variations and all.

A fidget spinner is a palm-sized toy that spins with the slight flick of a thumb and prevents an easily distracted individual to pay attention to the endless and, strangely calming motion of the object. It’s been a rage amongst the kids, yes. But, it’s been even more intriguing amongst adults. Originally having been developed to help kids suffering with ADHD or autism relieve stress—although there isn’t enough concrete research to prove, or disprove this theory—the fidget spinner seems to have become a great way to perform the same function for adults, too, in their work environments. Again, there isn’t any concrete research on this claim and so, it’s all based on people trying and testing it out themselves. And according to Forbes, “retailers have made claims that the fidget spinner has health benefits such as easing stress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).” But, again, these are claims made by the industry that wants to make a profit of selling fidget spinners. So, we don’t really know the extent of legitimacy to these claims. But, from whoever has tried the objects and whatever tests they’ve put it through, here’s what we know about fidget spinners.

What Does The Fidget Spinner Really Do?

It spins. That’s just it. And while there really is no trick science to it, vloggers, boggers, YouTubers across the world have taken to their channels to show the world exactly how to make the most of fidget spinners. You’re supposed to place it between your thumb and finger, give it a small flick and watch it spin to your absolute delight. But, aside from its technical function, the fidget spinner is about killing work boredom—those little gaps during your work hours when you realize you’re frazzled beyond beliefe and cannot focus on your work anymore because your brain is tired. That’s when you become most distracted and tend to find your mind diverted to random objects, movements and colourful things on the internet, or around you. What do you do? You pick up a fidget spinner and watch it spin between your fingers.

The good people at Forbes went a step further in their research and even tried fidget spinners for themselves and according to their findings, “It could very well improve your day-to-day by giving you an innocuous outlet for your nervous or bored energy, and our testers unanimously found this to be true.” James Plafke, one of the Forbes’ staff, observed in his article, “Some of us played with the spinners instead of bit our nails and cuticles—I went from short nails and raw skin to being able to squeeze a lemon into a glass of water with no problem.”

To put it quite simply, the fidget spinner is the new pocket stone—you know, those little feel good stones we keep clutching in our hands to reaffirm our positive thoughts, calm our nerves through little words and meditation tactics. And, as it would turn out, it’s working for adults in the workspace, as much as it probably is working for children with autism and ADHD. Some of the things that a fidget spinner definitely does is…

It lets you be more present in your daily life

You find yourself more awake and conscious of the moment you’re in, rather than drifting away due to a lack of interest, or boredom.

It distracts your mind

At the same time, it offers you the right kind of distraction in just the tiniest way possible. Often, we find ourselves engaging in mindless chatter with co-workers in our professional spaces. What this really does lead to is office politics that we don’t need. According to Roland Rotz and Sarah D. Wright, authors of the book Fidget To Focus: Outwit Your Boredom: Sensory Strategies For Living With ADHD, fidgeting may prevent your mind from being occupied by obsessive and unhealthy thoughts. The fidget spinner allows you to cut back, take that five-minute break that doesn’t get prolonged due to gossip in the workplace and come back to your task at hand, slightly more awake and refreshed.

It prevents unnecessary screen time

Be honest, how often have you just reached for your phone, or quickly opened up another tab on your browser to tweet random nonsense, or follow someone on Facebook? Too often to put a number to it, exactly. The fidget spinner prevents you from doing that. You find yourself increasingly picking up the object instead, while you’re talking on the phone, reading through your emails, or brainstorming an idea at work. It cuts back on the mindless clutter.

It's a great conversation starter

Really, it is. Given that they’re an internet rage across the world right now, everyone in your office—right from the head of your division who probably knows about these objects through his kids to the young secretary who seems like a nice person to talk to—will want in on this conversation.

The Side-Effects of A Fidget Spinner

There is more evidence of the object being a menace amongst kids, of course. But, from the standpoint of an adult, here’s where you could go wrong with a fidget spinner.

It encourages a sedentary lifestyle

You can sit for hours at an end gazing at your fidget spinner doing its thing, which is essentially, just spinning. And while it’s a lot like watching a stripper strip for you on loop, in the latter case, you still get to wank off and have some sort of nervous and physical release. There are hormones being secreted that do good to your bodily functions and even enhance your performance. With fidget spinners, that’s not really happening much. When you turn to your fidget spinner at your office desk, you find yourself leaving your desk a lot less and that’s a bad thing because sitting for more than 6 hours is bad for your health. Most medical experts advise you to get up from your desk, do a few exercises, move around a bit and even stand and work. Fidget spinners encourage you to be seated with your derriere glued to an uncomfortable seat. That is something you will have to be mindful about.

It could cause a blur of sight

Unlike meditation—during which, when you open your eyes, it’s like gaining your sight for the first time—when you’re looking at a fidget spinner, your vision dulls and blurs around you, causing you to get a little dizzy from having wired off into some whirl of the spinner. That’s not a good thing because, for some people it could take time to regain your vision to its full potential and it can actually cause your eyes to water and your head to ache and remain heavy for long after you have stopped using the object.

It could lead to an overuse

Fidget spinners are great for those 5-minute breaks between office assignments. But, have you not heard the saying that too much of anything is bad for your health? The same can be said about a fidget spinner. If you’re someone who gets easily distracted, a fidget spinner might just to do the opposite of allow you to focus. You might actually find yourself increasingly using the object, even when you know you should be focusing on a work assignment.

The case for the fidget spinner is intriguing at most, like I said early on. It’s got its pluses and minuses. It’s a fun object and it doesn’t hurt to have around. But, how much is too much and do you really need it are two important questions you should probably ask yourself before bringing it into your work environment.

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