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The Challenge of Managing Digital Information in the Workplace

Gloria MarkDepartment of InformaticsUniversity of California, IrvineISR Forum 2012

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The nature of multitasking at work

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High levels of multitasking in the workplace:

Activity switches ~every 3 min.

People work on an avg. of 12 different projects

At the project level, switches every 10 ½ minutes

People self-interrupt ~44% of the time

It takes ~ 23 min. 15 sec. to resume an interrupted task

Multitasking and stress

When interrupted, people experience significantly higher:

Stress **

Mental workload *

Frustration **

Time pressure *

Effort **

*p<.05, **p<.001

Gender

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Emails are a significant source of interruptions

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How much attention does email demand?

More email communication than F2F

70% of emails attended to within 6 seconds

45% reported “loss of control” in managing info

People spend ~23 % time on email

Email can be checked up to 36 times/hr.

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How is multitasking affected by email?

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Can we create an environment in which people can focus more closely on their tasks?

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The field site

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Large, scientific research organization

Information workers

Heavily reliant on email in their work

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Data collection techniques

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Experimental design

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Day Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Short Interview

Sociometric Badge

Short Survey

Day Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

NO EMAIL

Interview

Long Survey

“Shadowing”

Heart Rate Monitor

Sociometric Badge

Work Activity Log

Office Sensors

Short Survey

Main

Part

icip

an

tsC

olle

ag

ues

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Data collected

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13 participant groups, 52 total participants (including colleagues)

137 hours of ethnographic observation

Logged over 25,000 window changes on participants’ computers

Sensors recorded over 1.6 million sensor events

Total of more than 700 hours of sensor data collection

Heart rate monitors: Over 40,000 HR readings

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Ethnographic shadowing

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Activity TypeMean Duration

(seconds)

Baseline No Email

Out-of-Office 412.32 1195.24

Computing tasks 52.47 50.32

Physical tasks 41.06 56.55

Communication 84.82 60.15

Email 40.65 36.94

Metawork 21.41 29.14

Other Tasks 56.12 31.33

Overall 74.81 102.85

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Ethnographic shadowing

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Activity TypeMean Duration

(seconds)

Baseline No Email

Out-of-Office 412.32 1195.24

Computing tasks 52.47 50.32

Physical tasks 41.06 56.55

Communication 84.82 60.15

Email 40.65 36.94

Metawork 21.41 29.14

Other Tasks 56.12 31.33

Overall 74.81 102.85

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Computer logging: Durations

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Baseline No Email0

50

100

150

200

250

P1P2P3P4P5P6P7P8P9P10P11P12P13MeanA

vera

ge w

ind

ow

focu

s d

ura

tion

(s

econ

ds)

t(12) = −5.00, p < .001

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Computer logging: Frequencies

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Baseline No Email0

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20

30

40

50

60

P1P2P3P4P5P6P7P8P9P10P11P12P13Mean

Avera

ge f

req

uen

cy o

f w

ind

ow

sw

itch

es (

sw

itch

es/h

ou

r)t(12) = 6.50, p < .0001

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Heart rate and stress

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Heart rate variability (HRV) is widely used as an indicator of mental stress

The lower the measure of HRV, the higher the amount of stress that an individual experiences

Data obtained from only seven participants

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Email and stress: HRV data

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Baseline No Email0

5

10

15

20

25

30

P2

P3

P4

P5

P6

P8

P11

SD

NN

of

measu

red

heart

rate

t(6) = -2.260, p = .065

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Email and stress: HRV data

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Baseline No Email0

5

10

15

20

25

30

P2

P3

P4

P5

P6

P8

P11

M

SD

NN

of

measu

red

heart

rate

t(6) = -2.260, p = .065Levene’s test: F(1, 40409) = 33.40, p < .001

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Effect on colleagues

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For each participant, 2–7 closest team members were asked about stress, work, productivity, e.g.:

“It was easy for me to reach [XX] to get information I needed from [him/her]”

No significant difference between Baseline and No Email

Trend for more agreement in Baseline than in No Email(p < .08) for this statement:

“I was able to get the information I needed to conduct my work today”

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Analysis of interview data

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Lack of agency/loss of control

More face-to-face time

More task focus

Feeling cut off

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Lack of agency/loss of control

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~ 1/2 of informants described that they felt like they were not in control of their email

When asked how they felt about working without email, nearly all informants described that their pace was more relaxed.

“I let the sound of the bell and the pop-ups rule my life.”

“It ruled my life—that made me feel depressed, and now I feel

liberated [without email]…too much headache trying to keep

on top of everything.”

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Email, communication, and workplace relationships

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All informants reported that with email cut off, they interacted with people more, both face-to-face and by phone

They viewed this change as a benefit

Informants expressed that during the time of email cut off, they became aware that the use of email hindered their work relationships

“[Working without email] helps with one-on-one relationships”

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More focus

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Nearly all informants: during the time that email was cut off, they were able to spend longer periods of time on a task and focus more intently on their work

“It gave me time to think about [work] more.”

“I was able to spend time actually doing tasks thathad to be done…. It was nice to be able to sit and

work on a manuscript for the whole morning.”

“When I didn’t have email, multitasking, I hadthree projects done. I was more focused.”

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Feeling “cut off”

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Biggest disadvantage expressed by informants when they did not have email was that they felt “cut off.”

About half the informants described it as a general sense of isolation

This feeling seemed to be grounded in a fear that they were potentially missing out on organizational information

“Yes—hands down—it isolates you as theone person who’s not plugged in.”

“The hardest thing was not being sure what I missed.”

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Recommendations

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Email vacations

Batching email

Use of a pull-oriented channel

Organization should consider the immaterial benefitsof email reduction

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Summary

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By cutting off email, people could report from their actual experience

When email is cut off for five days:

Duration on task increases;

Frequency of task switching decreases

Stress reduces

Face-to-face communication increases

Not clear of its effect on productivity

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The burden falls on the user to integrate their work that is fragmented over time and space!

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Thanks

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To our informants

To the National Science Foundation award CNS-0937060to the CRA for the Computing Innovation Fellows Project

To the U.S. Army Natick R, D & E Center

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In collaboration with…

Steve Voida

Armand Cardello

Victor Gonzalez

Norman Su

Justin Harris

Laura Dabbish

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In the mediaBBC Radio interview. May 15, 2012.

The New York Times. Taking e-mail vacations can reduce stress, study says. May 4, 2012.

National Public Radio (NPR). Marketplace Tech Report. Broadcast May 4, 2012.

The Atlantic. Study of the Day: Email Breaks at Work Reduce Stress, Improve Productivity. May 9, 2012.

Huffington Post. Taking a break from work email could help curb stress: Study. May 7, 2012

U.S. News & World Report. An 'Email Vacation' Could Save Your Health. May 11, 2012.

Los Angeles Times. You knew this: Work emails are bad for your health, study finds. May 3, 2012.

The Atlantic. The Latest 'Ordinary Thing That Will Probably Kill You'? Email. May 4, 2012.

ABC Radio Australia. No work email access = less stress, better focus. May 7, 2012.

New York Daily News. Having a stressful moment? Turn off email. May 9, 2012.

The Globe and Mail. Is it possible to check e-mail just twice a day? May 13, 2012.

Seattle Times. Letting go of emails is good for you. May 4, 2012.