Humans and multitasking: How much can we do simultaneously? | DW Documentary

Can humans multitask? Scientists are examining how trying to do as many things as possible at the same time is affecting our brains - and our souls. Making phone calls while driving, checking social media at work, listening to music while studying, maintaining efficiency while working from home. Many companies still regard the capacity to multitask as a crucial workplace skill. But is this approach to work and life really effective? This documentary explores the phenomenon through a wide variety of disciplinary lenses, including kinesiology and neuroscience, occupational psychology, business management and sociology. The outcome: our brain is not designed to accomplish several complex tasks at the same time. Attempts to do so result in stress that can exert significant damage on particular regions of the brain — its “grey matter“, for example. This damage to the brain can also hurt the economy. A large-scale study involving companies from 20 sectors found that multitasking practices pushed turnover down by 25 per cent. But is there any way to escape the pressure vortex?