When the phone's away, people use their computer to play: distance to the smartphone reduces device usage but not overall distraction and task fragmentation during work

Maxi Heitmayer

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: The smartphone helps workers balance the demands of their professional and personal lives but can also be a distraction, affecting productivity, wellbeing, and work-life balance. Drawing from insights on the impact of physical environments on object engagement, this study examines how the distance between the smartphone and the user influences interactions in work contexts. Participants (N=22) engaged in two 5h knowledge work sessions on the computer, with the smartphone placed outside their immediate reach during one session. Results show that limited smartphone accessibility led to reduced smartphone use, but participants shifted non-work activities to the computer and the time they spent on work and leisure activities overall remained unchanged. These findings suggest that discussions on smartphone disruptiveness in work contexts should consider the specific activities performed, challenging narratives of 'smartphone addiction' and 'smartphone overuse' as the cause of increased disruptions and lowered work productivity.

Keywords: workplace interruptions; work fragmentation; smartphone; productivity; distraction; REF fund (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J01 R14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-03-28
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Published in Frontiers in Computer Science, 28, March, 2025, 7. ISSN: 2624-9898

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:127186

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