Workshop on Mindful Work and Technology

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

This is funding to partially support a workshop of about 19 participants, invited mainly on the basis of their expertise in computer and information science or the social sciences (with a focus on work organization and practice) or mindfulness practices and the contemplative arts, to explore problems as a consequence of the manner in which new information technologies have over the past several decades transformed the way people work. E-mail, cell phones, and the World Wide Web, among other innovations, have made it possible to conduct work at vast distances and at all hours of the day and night. But with these remarkable opportunities has also come a range of unintended consequences. The easy availability of vast amounts of information has led to a pervasive sense of overload. The presence of multiple communication devices and information sources has fostered an interrupted style of working that often threatens concentration. And the possibility of communicating and acting quickly has encouraged a speedup in work practices and expectations that feels unsustainable and at times counterproductive. But doing more faster doesn't necessarily mean doing it better. There is growing concern that today's dominant mode of working, which features multi-tasking across multiple information sources and devices, is degrading the quality of work results, as well as workers' satisfaction in the process. And there is mounting evidence that work stress is contributing to a range of health problems, including heart attack, stroke, anxiety, and depression. What can be done to reduce work stress, and to increase the quality of work and the satisfaction in its accomplishment? This workshop will focus on developing a research agenda that can lead to the development of technologies that engage human attention in calm and informative ways, and the creation of workplaces that encourage and support mindful, productive, and healthful work. Questions to be addressed will include: How can computer systems (both hardware and software) be designed to encourage relaxed attention? How might computer screens and interfaces be redesigned to take account of people's fuller humanity, including their embodiment? What might more fully-embodied office practices and procedures look like? How might workspace architecture, furniture, sound and light be redesigned to encourage mindful presence? This workshop constitutes a follow-on to the Workshop on Information, Silence, and Sanctuary which was organized by the PI in Seattle in May, 2004 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation and NSF. Additional funding/support for the current event is anticipated from the MacArthur Foundation, the University of Washington, and the Library of Congress. Broader Impacts: The PI's goal is to raise public awareness of the workshop topics and to stimulate broad discussion of them. To these ends, he will write a report summarizing the workshop presentations and its major findings, and will make it available online in addition to publishing it in a reputable vehicles of dissemination. The workshop will take place over five days in the Washington DC area in mid-March, 2006. At the conclusion of the workshop, a public program at the Library of Congress to which the press will be invited will include a presentation on the topic of the workshop and a panel discussion among some of the participants.