Perception and Management of Work Interruptions Among Digital Business Professionals: An Updated Study

Authors

Volker Seiler, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Villach, AustriaFollow
Fabian J. Stangl, Digital Business Institute, School of Business and Management, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Steyr, AustriaFollow
René Riedl, Digital Business Institute, School of Business and Management, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Steyr, Austria; Institute of Business Informatics – Information Engineering, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, AustriaFollow

Abstract

The modern workplace has been profoundly transformed by the widespread integration of digital technologies, fundamentally changing the way individuals conduct business and interact within their work environments. However, this digital transformation has also created a major problem relevant to both research and practice: the ubiquitous prevalence of work interruptions (e.g., receiving unexpected emails or instant messages while focused on a task). Against this background, we conducted a qualitative study to allow digital business professionals to describe their general perception and management of interruptions. As a result, we validate and refine a category system developed in a previous study on specific interruption types, quantify their outcomes on psychological well-being and work performance, and examine how they are handled, thus filling gaps in the existing literature on interruption perception and management. Overall, this category system can serve as a valuable foundation for future interruption science research.

Recommended Citation

Seiler, Volker; Stangl, Fabian J.; and Riedl, René, "Perception and Management of Work Interruptions Among Digital Business Professionals: An Updated Study" (2024). Wirtschaftsinformatik 2024 Proceedings. 77.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/wi2024/77