Phone Presence

The subconscious distraction of a mobile phone

by Productivity and AttentionResearch
'The Mere Presence of a Cell Phone May be Distracting - Implications for Attention and Task Performance'.
Extracts and summary of the research by: Bill Thornton, Alyson Faires, Maija Robbins, and Eric Rollins (2014)

Key quotes from the research:

  • ‘the use and misuse of mobile technology has negatively impacted productivity both in quantity and quality of work output attributed in large part to the interruptions occurring every 15 min and the time it takes to regain concentration afterwards’.
  • ‘a 3-s distraction (the time it takes to reach out and silence a cell phone) while conducting a sequencing task is sufficient to disrupt attention and result in twice the number of errors made in the post-disruption phase of the task; the longer the interruption, the greater the error rate’.
  • ‘the presence of a cell phone [has] a negative impact on performance when the tasks are more intentionally and cognitively demanding’. 

Summary of the research: 

Previous research has shown that using a phone can be distracting while multi-tasking, such as while walking or driving.

Recent research has even shown that the simple presence of a phone (e.g. placed on a table), with all the extended cyberspace connections and networks that it represents, can distract from and reduce the overall quality and experience of in-person physical social interactions and connections.

This research goes a step further to investigate the distracting capability of the simple presence of a mobile phone while performing tasks that require greater cognitive demands within the workplace (and in education). 

What was found is that the presence of a mobile phone had a negative impact on the quality of work performed when tasks were attentionally and cognitively demanding.

In a similar way to the ability of thoughts unrelated to the task at hand causing the mind to wander, being subconsciously aware of the potential connections that are offered by the use of a mobile phone (e.g. social media connections) may cause the mind to wander and potentially interfere with performance – especially when engaging in more complex tasks.

It is easier to maintain attention on a task at hand when there are fewer visual elements to stimulate thoughts not related to the task itself. The impact of unrelated thoughts depends entirely on the complexity of the task being completed. There is a much lower impact, for example, on tasks that require lower levels of cognitive or attentional demands.

The implications for this subtle distraction that mobile phones have on productivity in the workplace can be wide-ranging. Although the actual use of a mobile phone in the workplace has been considered by many, the distracting ability of the presence of a mobile needs to also be considered. 

An ‘out of sight, out of mind’ concept may be required in some instances, especially when more complex and cognitively demanding tasks are being attended to. 

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by ResearchWork-Home Boundary Blurring
'When You Just Cannot Get Away - Exploring the use of information and communication technologies in facilitating negative work/home spillover'.

Extracts and a summary of research by: Ronald W. Berkowsky (2013)

Key quotes from the research:

  • ‘Boundaries [between work and home], while sometimes motivated by the needs and beliefs of the individual, are often socially constructed and are based on societal norms, pressures, and expectations’. 
  • ‘Because [mobile digital technology] provides a means for individuals to be available to both work and home contacts at all times, there is an increasing potential for these contacts to impede upon a specific domain in which they do not necessarily belong’.
  • ‘[Mobile digital technology does not] dictate the permeability of the work/home interface, but are instead tools which perpetuate the structural norms associated with work/home boundaries’.
  • ‘Having a heavy workload, having unclear job expectations, and experiencing physical illness/ailments were significant predictors of negative spillover in both directions’.
  • ‘Other work-related characteristics (such as job autonomy and schedule control) … have previously been found to be significant predictors of spillover’. 

Summary of the research: 

The proliferation of mobile-based technology, since the turn of the century, has resulted in workers being constantly connected to friends, family and colleagues at all times of the day and night wherever they happen to be. This constant ability to be contacted has been a significant catalyst for increased physical and mental stress and negative well-being. Berkowski’s research is an investigation of the negative impact of digital technology’s ability to allow for work to spill over into non-work time and visa versa. 

The boundaries we set between one domain and another, and the level to which we allow one to permeate into another, are as distinct and unique as each of us are.

Prior to the introduction of mobile digital technology, the boundary between work and home was (generally) a simplistic and definitive one, determined by a geographic boundary between the two life realms. Mobile digital technology has removed this geographic boundary between work and home, resulting in one that was already more permeable prior to the onset of mass remote and hybrid working. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. 

The advantages are:

  • Life and work roles have the ability to enrich each other – i.e. a positive mood in one life realm can counteract any negative or stressful circumstances in another
  • Being successful in one role can compensate for any areas needing improvement in the other
  • Skillsets and competencies in one role can translate into the other – so participating in a number of different life roles can counterbalance negative stress and struggles in another

The disadvantages are: 

  • ‘Role interference’ – where the stress and negativity of one role can impact on other life realms
  • Work interruptions during private time can reduce the amount of time spent with significant others, reduce overall energy levels and take time away from personal pursuits

The level of either positive or negative impact that the more permeable boundary has on the individual is determined by the preference they have for allowing work to spill over into private time or visa versa.

The level of stress and anxiety is determined by the level of individual ability to meet these expectations in practice. e.g. if someone prefers to have their home and work life overlap, stress and anxiety result when they are not able to do so – either because workplace policies do not allow them to do so or a partner may have a strong preference for a clear segmented approach to work and home life.

Alternatively, if someone prefers very little overlap between work and home, but a line manager or client either sets a meeting for (or sends messages, emails, or calls) outside of official working hours asking questions or expecting a reply, this can result in higher levels of anxiety and stress, both for the work and others within the household. 

The impact of technology use during private time: 

  • Those who have higher levels of ambition and are more involved in their job role are more likely to use mobile technology after work, which results in higher levels of conflict in home life
  • Perceived usefulness of technology, organisational pressures, and after-hours supplementary work is directly associated with work-to-family conflict
  • Checking emails and work-based mobile use, over time, was linked to work negatively spilling over to private time, which was linked to higher levels of distress and lower family satisfaction.
  • Using Social Media to connect with work colleagues in private time can help to reduce stress, as social media is viewed as a means to socially engage with work colleagues outside of work commitments.
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Personality and Tech

Technology use and personality type

by Individual Differences and Impact

According to research, some personality types are more prone to certain technology use behaviours e.g. those who have a higher neurotic personality trait can become fixated a little more on checking and responding to emails and messages from work on a regular basis, even during private time.

They may also tend to worry about the message itself, how to fix the situation or what the person who sent the message thought about them, and what impact this may have on their job.

They will often keep on checking emails and messages for a response to the last message sent because they worry about it until they get the response.

Hints and Tips:

If you are a bit like this, it could be worth not uploading work emails to your mobile device and switching your computer off at the end of the workday. Keeping emails on your computer and having to switch your computer on after hours in order to access emails – means you are slightly less likely to look at and engage with them after hours.

Have a separate work and personal mobile. This way, you can switch your work phone off at the end of the day.

Have an easily accessible workbook that you can jot down things that you forgot you need to do the next day. Try not to be tempted to turn your computer on, or pick up your mobile to quickly make a note. It’s all too easy for that to turn into a 3-hour work session that takes you away from your family or from your own recovery.

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How introversion and extroversion affects remote/hybrid workers

by Individual Differences and Impact

We don’t often consider how personalities, can play into how we ‘do work’ and remote/hybrid working in particular.

A lot of research has been done trying to find out how personality type is linked to engagement with technology and apps. Results are often vague or contradictory. However, there are some useful insights that we can consider. One of these is how introverts and extroverts fare while remote or hybrid working. 

Introverts

We tend to think of introverts as shy and extroverts as outspoken. But, from a psychological point of view, introverts are those who find that interacting with others drains them of energy. They need to spend time on their own to recharge. Someone can be really sociable and also be an introvert.

They find working in an office really tiring and find remote working to be easier and less tiring than working in an office. They are more likely to revel in the lower levels of colleague engagement that remote working affords. They may also feel more emotionally and mentally tired when they have to attend extended periods of video calls or have to attend to a constant stream of messages and emails. In the same way as people coming over to the desk on a regular basis, having to keep a messaging window open on their screen all day, can become really tiring.

Hints and Tips:

If you are more of an introvert, try closing your email or messaging apps for chunks of time during the day. If this needs a conversation with your manager and colleagues to let them know that you need blocks of focussed time, then chat with them about when the best time would be for you to do this.

Others quickly get used to you being available via email during specific hours each day, and they often work around it, or they just call if there is anything really urgent that needs dealing with.

Extroverts

In contrast, extroverts tend to get their energy from spending time with others. Someone can be quite shy but also be an extrovert.

Extroverts need regular face-to-face contact and engagement. They are more likely to, therefore, set up online meetings, or go to every online meeting set up by others. They tend to spend a lot of time on, and distract themselves with a lot, of emails and messages.

Sending and reading messages substantially reduces overall concentration and productivity levels. Additionally, extroverts are also more likely to be bored, and frustrated and often, therefore, more likely to play games, spend time on social media and distract themselves with many tasks at once.

Because they get energy from being around others, they are the ones more likely to want to return to the office full-time and are less likely to understand why others prefer not to.

Hints and Tips:

If you are more of an extrovert and required to work remotely most of the time, make a conscious effort to allocate time to focus on engaging with others during the day. Simple things like going to a local coffee shop to work for a few hours or going to your local store and chatting with the teller can help.

Doing this may reduce the need to dabble in excessive messaging and emails, playing games and checking out social media. It may also help you become more focussed and productive once you have received the ‘social fix’ you need.

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Work and Home Boundaries

Lessons from Lockdown – Boundaries

by Work-Home Boundary Blurring
Boundaries between work and home

Work and home boundaries were abandoned during the first lockdown with both life realms being geographically merged for the first time for most.

Since then, we’ve adjusted our boundaries and had time to figure out what does or doesn’t work for us. We’ve also had time to shift our perspectives on what is possible and optimal for us and our teams, in a way that can give us the benefits of being fully in-office, hybrid or fully remote. 

However we work, what is important is having a psychological boundary between work and home tasks. We need to have a strategic work-life balance strategy that dedicates chunks of time outside of work to people and activities that aren’t work related and switching off workplace tech during private time. 

Everyone’s definition of what a good work-life balance is can be fundamentally different. But, having a personal work-life balance strategy that allows for cognitive energy recovery time is essential to being a more effective, productive worker because cognitive recovery directly impacts thinking skills, memory, stress levels and mental health. 

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Lessons from Lockdown – The Second Pivot

by Hybrid, Remote & Flexible Work
The Post-2021 Remote Work Pivot Point

Trickling in during the summer of 2021, the second pivot point started gaining traction. 

The statistics around the number of those who want to return to the office full-time and those wanting a more hybrid way of working differs across studies. But generally: 

56% of knowledge workers prefer to work from home & 39% want to return to the office *

Whatever statistics you may find: 

  • We know that a number of workers do not want to psychologically return to the ‘old normal’
  • We know that those who had more autonomy and job control during Lockdowns had lower overall stress and anxiety levels
  • Once a worker realises they can be more productive with lower levels of stress, it becomes difficult to return to a more controlling, less productive work environment. 

Although the main arguments from those desiring a return to the ‘old normal’, hang on the narrative of productivity levels when working from home, there is a potential that the main driving force behind that narrative is what Apple employees in their open letter to their management describe as ‘the fear of the future of work, the fear of worker autonomy and the fear of losing control’. 

The more a company insists on returning to the ‘old normal’, the more out of step they become with current and future worker ideals. Because the future of work is moving towards us faster than we realise. The past two years have given us an idea and understanding of how quickly and radically technology can shift how we work. We need to be ready for this workplace future. 

* WFH Research has the latest data on Working From Home and Hybrid Working Preferences amongst knowledge workers.

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Lessons from Lockdown – The First Big Pivot

by Hybrid, Remote & Flexible Work
The 2020 Remote Work Pivot Point

There are a few considerations regarding how we manage the way digital work could affect us psychologically going forward. 

The first is that prior to March 2020 digital technology was shifting the workplace and how we conducted work, at a slow but constant pace. But, up to mid-March 2020, even though the technology was available, most companies insisted that it was impossible for people and teams to work effectively from home or remotely. They often said that productivity, creativity and teamwork would suffer. That it couldn’t be done. That it was impossible.

Then ‘the impossible’ became ‘the necessary’. Our daily lives were upended and we had to psychologically (not just physically) re-orient ourselves, our behaviours and habits into new ways of doing things and learning new technology in the process. 

However, the original ‘3 weeks to flatten the curve’ turned into almost 2 years and remote work disruption morphed into an adjusted norm. From a CyberPsychology perspective, one of the main benefits of remote working was the increase in confidence in technology use amongst remote workers. Without colleagues or IT close at hand, workers were forced to figure out how to use IT on their own and needed to acquire greater levels of IT competence (known as computer self-efficacy) in using the tools required to get the work done.

Being more confident in using the tools required to complete the work, gives the worker the ability to be more productive, efficient and effective. 

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Lessons from Lockdown – Remote Working & Productivity

by Productivity and Attention
Remote working productivity

There is a lot of debate around remote working productivity. Some suggest that working from home (WFH) reduces productivity levels. In contrast, quite a lot of research showcases that although everyone is very different regarding focus and efficiency, on average productivity is higher amongst remote and hybrid workers than amongst office workers. 

But, this general narrative of lower productivity levels amongst remote workers does exacerbate worker productivity signalling, including emails and messaging communications, that remote workers feel they need to do in order to showcase they are being productive. 

Working through traditional commute times

There are many reasons why productivity can vary amongst remote workers.

One potential reason for lower productivity comes from working during traditional commute times. Research shows that doing so doesn’t actually increase productivity or output as it is more cognitively draining to work longer hours and more likely to lead to self-distracting behaviour and lower hourly productivity. 

It is instead more productive to either start work at the same time as you would in the office, or break up your day to allow your body and brain time to recover from the energy drain that results from cognitive work. 

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Hybrid work may discriminate against those constantly given lower-value and non-promotable work

by Hybrid, Remote & Flexible Work

Do you seem to take on more of the ‘office housework’ than others in your team? An interesting article in the Guardian highlighting a few points from the book ‘The No Club’, showcases how women tend to take on more admin type work within a team. They find it hard to say ‘no’ because they are expected to work on low-value assignments & non-promotable work.

This seems to be exacerbated by hybrid working where women are no longer seen at their desks. If asked to do less meaningful work, they may not produce as much value-added work as others within their team (regardless of gender).

The solution offered by one of the authors is to systematically distribute necessary but non-promotable work across all team members, have a random or rota-system or delegate these tasks across the team.

If productivity in hybrid working is about output, rather than hours in the office, then leaders need to make sure that all team members share an equal level of productive and non-productive work.

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Lessons from Lockdown – Zoom Fatigue

by Individual Differences and Impact
Zoom fatigue

One of the terms that was bandied about a lot during Lockdown 1 was Zoom Fatigue. This was because many of us were experiencing higher levels of emotional and cognitive exhaustion after spending large portions of the day on Zoom calls. 

In his research on this topic, Nick Bloom of Stanford University found a few reasons why we experience video meeting tiredness: 

  1. The Mirror Effect – with the camera on, our peripheral vision catches our movement, our facial expressions, the way we’re sitting, the fall of our clothes, etc, and we are constantly adjusting and readjusting our appearance, which subconsciously weighing up how we see ourselves and how others see us. It is tiring having to constantly self-adjust both posture and facial features – especially when we are spending most of the day on video calls
  2. We all have Personal Boundaries – our brain doesn’t differentiate between physical and virtual distance. Faces on a laptop that feel too close to us, infringe on the personal boundary space normally reserved for close friends and family. It can subconsciously feel like those on the screen are invading our perceived personal space. The psychological desire to counteract the physical boundary infringement takes its mental toll
  3. We physically move less – unlike actual meetings where we generally move more and tend to walk to a meeting room. In physical meetings we are often also looking around the room, subtly engaging with others close to us and sometimes getting up to get something to drink etc. In video conferencing, we sit still, staring at the screen. If we move, others notice it and we feel too self-conscious to do so in order to avoid attracting too much attention, so we try to minimise all movement during the call. Then we switch to another meeting, sometimes without even getting up to stretch, refill a glass or take a natural break. 
  4. We often only see the faces of meeting participants. This means we cannot read other body language cues, requiring greater mental energy to process and interpret the conversation by filling in the gaps of information otherwise given through non-verbal behaviour.

‘Zoom fatigue’ played, and continues to play, a large part in why we feel exhausted at the end of the day – especially if we spend too much time on video calls. 

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