The Impact Of Multitasking In Video Meetings On Meeting Outcomes: Initial Results

Multitasking in video meetings is a ubiquitous phenomenon. While extant literature has investigated the circumstances under which people multitask in video meetings, little is known about the impacts of multitasking on meeting outcomes. Building on the findings of previous studies investigating the impact of multitasking in individual non-video meeting work setups and threaded cognition theory, we present a research model that suggests that multitasking may have negative effects on meeting outcomes such as process loss and team meeting outcome satisfaction. We tested the research model in an incentivized within-subject laboratory experiment with n=72 participants. Results suggest that multitasking has a negative effect on process loss and team meeting outcome satisfaction compared to non-multitasking. We plan to further investigate the mediating role of cognitive user states and neurophysiological activations and ultimately aim to contribute with a deeper understanding of the impacts of multitasking.