Abstract

Spontaneous communication is common in the workplace but can be disruptive. Such communication usually benefits the initiator more than the target of the interruption. Previous research has indicated that awareness displays showing the workload of the target can reduce the harm interruptions inflict, but can increase the cognitive load on interrupters. This paper describes an experiment testing whether team membership influences interrupters' motivation to use awareness displays and whether the informational-intensity of the display influences their utility and cost. Results indicate interrupters use awareness displays to time communication only when they and their partners are rewarded as a team and that this timing so improved the target's performance on a continuous attention task. Eye-tracking data shows that monitoring an information-rich display imposed a substantial attentional cost on the interrupters, and that an abstract display provided similar benefit with less distraction.

Citations