Attention Spans – Gloria Mark
Freedom Matters
The Cost of Multitasking in the Workplace
A lot of people think that multitasking is doing two different tasks at the same time. But what people are actually doing when they multitask is switching their attention rapidly back and forth. The knowledge workplace is very much a polychronic workplace because people are getting demands from all places. And every time we switch our attention, we have to reorient, do this redundant work. It's not efficient. And people actually perform worse. This is measured empirically with measures like heart rate variability, blood pressure actually goes up. There's a release of a hormone associated with stress that increases when people multitask.
00:00
Transcript
Play full episode
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
