research-article

Feeling Stressed and Unproductive? A Field Evaluation of a Therapy-Inspired Digital Intervention for Knowledge Workers

Authors:

Skye Barbic, and

Joanna McGrenereAuthors Info & Claims

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, Volume 31, Issue 1

Article No.: 12, Pages 1 - 33

https://doi.org/10.1145/3609330

Published: 29 November 2023 Publication History

Abstract

Today’s knowledge workers face cognitively demanding tasks and blurred work-life boundaries amidst rising stress and burnout in the workplace. Holistic approaches to supporting workers, which consider both productivity and well-being, are increasingly important. Taking this holistic approach, we designed an intervention inspired by cognitive behavioral therapy that consists of: (1) using the term “Time Well Spent” (TWS) in place of “productivity”, (2) a mobile self-logging tool for logging activities, feelings, and thoughts at work, and (3) a visualization that guides users to reflect on their data. We ran a 4-week exploratory qualitative comparison in the field with 24 graduate students to examine our Therapy-inspired intervention alongside a classic Baseline intervention. Participants who used our intervention often shifted toward a holistic perspective of their primary working hours, which included an increased consideration of breaks and emotions. No such change was seen by those who used the Baseline intervention.

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Cited By

Leogrande A(2024)Knowledge Workers across the Italian RegionsSSRN Electronic Journal10.2139/ssrn.4772381Online publication date: 2024
https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4772381
Fritz TLill AMeyer AMurphy GHowe L(2023)Cultivating a Team Mindset about Productivity with a Nudge: A Field Study in Hybrid Development TeamsProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36101847:CSCW2(1-21)Online publication date: 4-Oct-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3610184
Vij RNazir H(2023)Leveraging AI & MI for Predictive Analytics in Stress Level of Private Insurance Employees : Comprehensive Review2023 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Innovations in Healthcare Industries (ICAIIHI)10.1109/ICAIIHI57871.2023.10489524(1-7)Online publication date: 29-Dec-2023
https://doi.org/10.1109/ICAIIHI57871.2023.10489524

Index Terms

Feeling Stressed and Unproductive? A Field Evaluation of a Therapy-Inspired Digital Intervention for Knowledge Workers
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)

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Published In

cover image ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction Volume 31, Issue 1

February 2024

517 pages

ISSN:1073-0516

EISSN:1557-7325

DOI:10.1145/3613507

Editors:
Kristina Höök
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
,
Kasper Hornbæk
University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Issue’s Table of Contents

Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the owner/author(s).

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 29 November 2023

Online AM: 22 July 2023

Accepted: 19 May 2023

Revised: 13 March 2023

Received: 17 July 2022

Published in TOCHI Volume 31, Issue 1

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Cited By

Leogrande A(2024)Knowledge Workers across the Italian RegionsSSRN Electronic Journal10.2139/ssrn.4772381Online publication date: 2024
https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4772381
Fritz TLill AMeyer AMurphy GHowe L(2023)Cultivating a Team Mindset about Productivity with a Nudge: A Field Study in Hybrid Development TeamsProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36101847:CSCW2(1-21)Online publication date: 4-Oct-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3610184
Vij RNazir H(2023)Leveraging AI & MI for Predictive Analytics in Stress Level of Private Insurance Employees : Comprehensive Review2023 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Innovations in Healthcare Industries (ICAIIHI)10.1109/ICAIIHI57871.2023.10489524(1-7)Online publication date: 29-Dec-2023
https://doi.org/10.1109/ICAIIHI57871.2023.10489524

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