Mindfulness Meditation: Investigating Immediate Effects in an Information Multitasking Environment

Interventions to increase focus and decrease stress in the workplace are beginning to receive research attention. At the same time, extensive training in meditation techniques show promising results. This study aimed to investigate the effects of mindfulness meditation on stress, focus, affect, workload, behavior and performance in an information multitasking environment. Participants worked on a proofreading task while being allowed to switch to use Facebook. Stress and focus were measured with heart rate variability and EEG signals respectively. Self-reported affect and workload were measured by questionnaire. Behavior was measured with computer log activity and performance was measured with proofreading accuracy. The results suggest that mindfulness meditation can increase arousal level and decrease stress level after a single session. Positive affect tends to decline without any form of work break. However, a single engagement in meditation has limited impact on regulating people’s task switching behavior nor altering the focus level. Design implications for intervention tools are discussed.