Context Switching measures how many different things people are working on and compares that to their usual workload. Activity includes the number of unique Jira epics, PR repos, P1 bugs, Slack or Teams, and meetings with other teams. This is a proxy for how many different topics people are switching their attention between throughout the day.

“More” Context Switching indicates a larger range of activity—and more frequent switch of focus—this week, compared to the past 8 weeks. Occasional periods of more context switching are normal. Sustained periods of increased context switching could be frustrating and lead to burnout.

We’ve categorized context switching into three levels:

• Less = The number of topics the individual interacted with this week is at least 20% less than the average of the prior 8 weeks
• About the Same = The number of topics the individual interacted with this week is within +/-20% of the average of the prior 8 weeks
• More = The number of topics the individual interacted with this week is at least 20% higher than the average of the prior 8 weeks

The overall Context Switching score factors in the unique number of:

• PR repos that the individual opened, merged, approved, commented on, or requested changes in
• Jira epics that the individual edited, whether in status, resolution, summary, description, comment, attachment, or time spent
• P1 (high priority) bug issues that the individual edited, whether in status, resolution, summary, description, comment, attachment, or time spent
• Slack channels that produced interruptions
• Meetings with two or more teams that the individual attended

Note: We do not account for sources for which we don’t pull data (e.g. email, spreadsheets, or presentation slides).

For ideas on how to minimize Context Switching for your teams, read more here: Context Switching