ABSTRACT
We present data from detailed observation of 24 information workers that shows that they experience work fragmentation as common practice. We consider that work fragmentation has two components: length of time spent in an activity, and frequency of interruptions. We examined work fragmentation along three dimensions: effect of collocation, type of interruption, and resumption of work. We found work to be highly fragmented: people average little time in working spheres before switching and 57% of their working spheres are interrupted. Collocated people work longer before switching but have more interruptions. Most internal interruptions are due to personal work whereas most external interruptions are due to central work. Though most interrupted work is resumed on the same day, more than two intervening activities occur before it is. We discuss implications for technology design: how our results can be used to support people to maintain continuity within a larger framework of their working spheres.
- Bannon, L., A. Cypher, S. Greenspan, and M. Monty. (1983). Evaluation and Analysis of Users' Activity Organization. Proc. Of CHI'83, 54--57. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Belloti, V., N. Ducheneaut, M. Howard,and I. Smith. (2003). Taking email to task: the design and evaluation of a task management centered email tool. Proceedings of CHI '03, 345--352. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Bluedorn, A. C., C. F. Kaufman, et al. (1992). "How many things do you like to do at once? An introduction to monochronic and polychronic time." Academy of Management Executive 6(4), 17--26.Google Scholar
- Czerwinski, M., Horvitz, E., and Wilhite, S. (2004). A diary study of task switching and interruptions. Proceedings of CHI 2004, 175--182. Google ScholarDigital Library
- DiMaggio, P. (2001). The Futures of Business Organization and Paradoxes of Change. In The Twenty-First-Century Firm: Changing economic organization in international perspective. Princeton U Press, 210--244.Google Scholar
- Gonzalez, V. and Mark, G. (2004). "Constant, Constant, Multi-tasking Craziness": Managing Multiple Working Spheres. Proceedings of ACM CHI'04, 113--120. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Hudson, J.M., Christensen, J., Kellogg, W.A. and Erickson, T. "I'd be overwhelmed, but it's just one more thing to do:" Availability and interruption in research management. (2002). Proceedings of CHI 2002, 97--104. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Jackson, M. (2002). What's Happening to Home? Balancing Work, Life, and Refuge in the Information Age. Notre Dame: Sorin.Google Scholar
- Kaptelinin, V. (2003). UMEA: Translating interaction histories into project context. Proc. CHI '03, 353--360. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Kraut, R. E., R. Fish, et al. (1993). Informal communication in organizations: form, function, and technology. In R. Baecker (Ed.) Groupware and Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. Morgan Kaufmann, 1993, 287--314.Google Scholar
- MacIntyre, B., E.D. Mynatt, S. Voida, K.M. Hansen, J. Tulio, and G.M. Corso. (2001). Support For multitasking and background awareness using interactive peripheral displays. User Interface Software and Technology 2001. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Mansfield, T., Kaplan, S., Fitzpatrick, G., Phelps, T., Fitzpatrick, M. and Taylor, R. Evolving Orbit: A progress report on building locales. Proceedings of Group'97, ACM Press, 241--250. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Mintzberg, H. (1973). The Nature of Managerial Work. Englewood Cliffs N.J., Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
- Miyata, Y. and Norman, D.A. (1986). Psychological issues in support of multiple activities, in User Centered System Design, D.A. Norman and S.W. Draper (Eds). Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, N.J., 265--284.Google Scholar
- Morteo, R.; Gonzalez, V.; Favela, J., Mark, G. (2004). Sphere Juggler: fast context retrieval in support of working spheres. Proc. of IEEE Mex. Inter'l Conference in Computer Science 2004, IEEE Press, 361--367. Google ScholarDigital Library
- O'Connail, B. & Frohlich, D. (1995). Timespace in the workplace: Dealing with interruptions. Proc. Of CHI '95 Extended Abstracts, 262--263. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Olson, G. M., & Olson, J. S. (2000). Distance Matters. Human-Computer Interaction, 15(2/3), 139--178. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Perlow, L.A., The time famine: Toward a sociology of work time. Admin. Science Quarterly, 44, (1999), 57--81.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Robertson, G., M. Van Dantzich, D. Robbins, M. Czerwinski, K. Hinckly, K. Risden, D. Thiel. (2000). The Task Gallery. Proceedings of CHI'00, 494--501. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Rouncefield, M., Hughes, J., Rodden, T., and Viller, S. (1994). Working with "constant interruption": CSCW and the small office. Proc. CSCW'94, 275--286. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Roseman, M. and Greenberg, S. (1996). TeamRooms: Network Places for Collaboration. Proceedings of ACM CSCW'96, ACM Press, 325--333. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Smith, G., P. Baudisch, G. Robertson, M. Czerwinski, B. Meyers, D. Robbins, and D. Andrews. (2003). GroupBar: The TaskBar Evolved. Proc. of OZCHI'03.Google Scholar
- Sproull, L.S., The nature of managerial attention. Advances in Information Processing in Organizations, 1, (1984), 9Google Scholar
- Vahtera, J. (2004). Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. The New York Times, Sept. 6, 2004.Google Scholar
- Zeigarnik, B. (1938). On finished and unfinished tasks, in W. D. Ellis, A Source Book of Gestalt Psychology, NY: Harcourt-Brace.Google Scholar
Index Terms
- No task left behind?: examining the nature of fragmented work
Recommendations
"Constant, constant, multi-tasking craziness": managing multiple working spheres
CHI '04: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing SystemsMost current designs of information technology are based on the notion of supporting distinct tasks such as document production, email usage, and voice communication. In this paper we present empirical results that suggest that people organize their ...
A diary study of task switching and interruptions
CHI '04: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing SystemsWe report on a diary study of the activities of information workers aimed at characterizing how people interleave multiple tasks amidst interruptions. The week-long study revealed the type and complexity of activities performed, the nature of the ...
Not Merely Deemed as Distraction: Investigating Smartphone Users’ Motivations for Notification-Interaction
CHI '23: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing SystemsNotifications are commonly considered a distraction when they arrive during a task, and consequently, prior research has consistently sought effective ways of deferring their arrival until task transitions. However, many smartphone users still interact ...
Comments