Ethnographic Study of On-Hold Caller Multitasking Behavior

Telephone users frequently engage in multitasking while on hold. While these multitasking behaviors are significant for the research and application of effective on-hold stimuli, they have not been thoroughly studied. The current study examines on-hold multitasking behavior with a naturalistic ethnographic method, and describes these behaviors for callers in their home environment. The data show that callers do indeed engage in a variety of multitasking behaviors, including web browsing, e-mail, and item manipulation. However, callers are not necessarily aware of these behaviors and self-reported data may not be completely accurate. Furthermore, the diverse nature of these secondary tasks presents unique challenges for system engineers seeking to implement effective telephone interactions.