Fact · Dictation for work and study
20minutes
In the same experiment, people reported significantly higher stress, frustration, workload, effort and time pressure after only 20 minutes of interrupted performance.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“After only 20 minutes of interrupted performance people reported significantly higher stress, frustration, workload, effort, and pressure”
The Cost of Interrupted Work: More Speed and Stress, Gloria Mark et al., Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2008), 2008, Conclusion.
Open the original- What it measures
- The authors used a modified NASA Task Load Index with an added stress scale, rated by participants after the interrupted tasks.
- What it does not show
- The authors could not say whether people would cope over time or whether these measures would keep rising. It is a single lab session.