Relationship Between Worker Interruptibility and Work Transitions Detected by Smartphone

To avoid work fragmentation and the consequent decrease in intellectual productivity of office workers, control of interruptions based on estimated interruptibility is desired. While existing studies mainly focus on work on PCs, non-PC work is also performed in offices and is considered to affect the interruptibility of workers. In this study, we focused on the transitions between PC work and the use of smartphones or walking, which are likely interruptible moments. We developed an experimental system to detect the use of smartphones and walking and to collect users’ subjective ratings of his/her interruptibility. As the result, it was revealed that the moments at the transitions to walking tend to more interruptible, whereas the transitions to or from smartphone use are not necessarily interruptible. Furthermore, it was also found that the transitions to smartphone use without an external trigger (self-transitions) are more interruptible moments than the transitions triggered by notifications.