Focused Time Saves Nine: Evaluating Computer-Assisted Protected Time for Hybrid Information Work

Vedant Das Swain, Javier Hernandez, Brian Houck, Koustuv Saha, Jina Suh, Ahad Chaudhry, Tenny Cho, Wendy Guo, Shamsi Iqbal, Mary P. Czerwinski

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Information workers often struggle to balance their time for a variety of activities like focused work, communication, and caring. This study analyzes the impact of a commercially available computer-assisted time protection intervention that automatically and preemptively schedules calendar time for self-determined activities. We analyzed the behaviors and self-reports of workers in two naturalistic studies. First, we studied 27 workers who were already using Computer-Assisted Protected Time (CAP time) and found that they mainly used it for focused work. Second, we analyzed the effect of CAP time as a randomized intervention on 89 workers who never had CAP time and found that those with it self-reported an increase in performance, job resources, and immersion. In both studies, workers with CAP time exhibited a rearrangement of activities leading to an overall reduction in work activity. This study highlights new opportunities for intelligent time-management interventions and the importance of protected time at work.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationCHI 2023 - Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
ISBN (Electronic)9781450394215
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 19 2023
Externally publishedYes
Event2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2023 - Hamburg, Germany
Duration: Apr 23 2023Apr 28 2023

Publication series

NameConference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Conference

Conference2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2023
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityHamburg
Period4/23/234/28/23

Keywords

  • behavioral intervention
  • future of work
  • information work
  • time-management

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design
  • Software

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