In a study of office workers at a corporation, Australian researchers found that, on average, those who spent up to...

GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions

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In a study of office workers at a corporation, Australian researchers found that, on average, those who spent up to \(20\%\) of their work day browsing the Internet for purposes that were not work-related were \(9\%\) more productive per hour of actual work than those who completely abstained from going online at work. The researchers concluded that frequent work breaks are rejuvenating and improve concentration, thereby increasing productivity.

Which of the following pieces of information about the workers studied would, if true, most strengthen the researchers' argument?

Those who were the most productive had jobs that required them to use the Internet frequently for work-related purposes.

Those who took work breaks to browse the Internet were more productive than those who took equally frequent breaks away from the computer.

Those who abstained from going online during their work day generally took far fewer work breaks than the other workers.

Those who were the most productive relative to their colleagues tended to take longer work breaks than the least productive of their colleagues.

Those who spent more than 20 percent of their work day online were less productive, on average, than those who abstained from going online.

Solution

Passage Analysis:

Text from Passage	Analysis
In a study of office workers at a corporation, Australian researchers found that, on average, those who spent up to 20 percent of their work day browsing the Internet for purposes that were not work-related were 9 percent more productive per hour of actual work than those who completely abstained from going online at work.	What it says: Workers who browsed the internet for personal stuff up to 20% of their day were 9% more productive than workers who never went online What it does: Sets up the surprising finding that drives the whole argument What it is: Study finding Visualization: Group A (20% personal internet use) = 109 units of productivity per hour vs Group B (0% personal internet use) = 100 units of productivity per hour
The researchers concluded that frequent work breaks are rejuvenating and improve concentration, thereby increasing productivity.	What it says: Taking breaks refreshes workers and helps them focus better, which makes them more productive What it does: Explains why the surprising study results happened - connects internet browsing to break-taking What it is: Researchers' conclusion/interpretation

Argument Flow:

The argument starts with a counterintuitive study finding - that workers who spend some time browsing the internet personally are actually more productive. Then it offers an explanation for this surprising result by saying these internet breaks refresh workers and improve their focus.

Main Conclusion:

Frequent work breaks are rejuvenating and improve concentration, thereby increasing productivity.

Logical Structure:

The researchers use the study data (internet browsers being more productive) as evidence to support their theory that breaks help productivity. They're essentially saying: if personal internet use leads to higher productivity, it must be because these mini-breaks refresh workers' minds.

Prethinking:

Question type:

Strengthen - We need to find information that would make us believe MORE in the researchers' conclusion that frequent work breaks are rejuvenating and improve concentration, thereby increasing productivity.

Precision of Claims

The key claim is very specific: internet browsing acts as 'frequent work breaks' that are 'rejuvenating' and 'improve concentration' which leads to increased productivity. We need to be precise about the causal chain: breaks → rejuvenation/better concentration → higher productivity.

Strategy

To strengthen this argument, we need information that supports the researchers' explanation for WHY internet browsing led to higher productivity. The researchers claim it's because internet browsing serves as rejuvenating breaks that improve concentration. So we want evidence that: (1) confirms internet browsing actually functioned as breaks, (2) shows these breaks were indeed rejuvenating/refreshing, (3) demonstrates improved concentration after breaks, or (4) rules out alternative explanations for the productivity boost.

Answer Choices Explained

Those who were the most productive had jobs that required them to use the Internet frequently for work-related purposes.

This tells us that the most productive workers used the internet frequently for work purposes. However, this doesn't strengthen the researchers' conclusion about personal internet browsing serving as rejuvenating breaks. In fact, this suggests that productivity might be related to work-related internet use rather than break-taking, which could actually weaken the argument by providing an alternative explanation.

Those who took work breaks to browse the Internet were more productive than those who took equally frequent breaks away from the computer.

This compares internet browsing breaks to other types of breaks and shows internet breaks are more effective. While this might seem relevant, it doesn't strengthen the core claim that breaks in general are rejuvenating and improve productivity. The researchers' conclusion is about the value of frequent breaks overall, not specifically about internet breaks being superior to other break types.

Those who abstained from going online during their work day generally took far fewer work breaks than the other workers.

This directly supports the researchers' explanation by showing that workers who abstained from personal internet use also took far fewer work breaks overall. This strengthens the argument because it confirms that the productivity difference between the two groups could indeed be attributed to break-taking behavior. If the less productive group (abstainers) also took fewer breaks in general, this supports the theory that breaks are what make workers more productive and concentrated.

Those who were the most productive relative to their colleagues tended to take longer work breaks than the least productive of their colleagues.

This provides information about break length rather than break frequency, and focuses on the most vs. least productive workers rather than the specific groups studied (those who browse vs. those who abstain). This doesn't directly connect to the researchers' conclusion about frequent breaks being rejuvenating, since it's about duration rather than frequency.

Those who spent more than 20 percent of their work day online were less productive, on average, than those who abstained from going online.

This tells us that excessive internet use (over 20%) reduces productivity compared to no internet use. This information is about a different group entirely and doesn't strengthen the researchers' conclusion about moderate internet browsing serving as beneficial breaks. If anything, this is neutral or potentially weakening since it shows internet use can sometimes hurt productivity.

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