Work interruptions of office workers: The influence of the complexity of primary work tasks on the perception of interruptions.
Vera B Rick, Christopher Brandl, Alexander Mertens and 1 others
PMID 37483054WHAT IT FOUND
More counted interruptions were linked to feeling overloaded, and feeling overloaded was linked to higher self-rated workload.
The link between counted interruptions and feeling overloaded was stronger when tasks were more complex.
Key findings
01More counted interruptions were linked to higher subjective workload, and perceived interruption overload partly explained this link.
02The link between counted interruptions and perceived interruption overload was stronger when primary tasks were more complex.
03The test did not confirm a conditional indirect effect through perceived interruption overload.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The final sample of 492 was below the 558 needed to detect small effects, so small effects may not be detectable. Only one workday was measured, so the study cannot show longer-term effects or cause and effect. Participants counted interruptions themselves, so missed or inflated counts are possible. The study included only German full-time office workers, so results may not apply to other countries or occupations. The interruption overload scale had no validated German version at the time and was translated by the researchers. Asking participants to focus on interruptions may have changed how they experienced them.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that reducing interruptions will lower workload. The study measured associations on one day and did not test an intervention.