In today’s modern-day world where people are constantly being interrupted by cell phone calls, emails, instant messages, and co-workers, it is apparent that interruptions have become a common occurrence. Further, given the growth of technology in the workplace, that is unlikely to dissipate. Although much research has been conducted on interruptions and their impact on performance, little of that work has focuses on the overall quality of performance on the primary task. The current study investigates the role interruptions have on overall quality of work in a creative, complex task. Interruptions were found to reliably reduce quality of work when introduced at different phases of the task.
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