Challenges in Using Skin Conductance Responses for Assessments of Information Worker Productivity

Breaks as discretionary self-interruptions can have beneficial effects on information worker productivity and well-being. This has design implications for potential productivity tools that can assess opportune moments to suggest these breaks. Electrodermal Activity (EDA) is a good psychophysiological metric to capture changes in autonomic activity resulting from affective states that necessitate breaks. Wrist-worn sensing platforms have been heralded as effective means for EDA-based affective state assessments in real-life scenarios. However, our study finds no correlation even in a controlled setting with a constrained operational definition of productivity and well-researched EDA measurement and processing techniques. We reflect on our rationale against prior success reported in laboratory and ambulatory assessments of EDA.