Documents mental workload 135 results

"This narrative review synthesizes and introduces 386 previous works about virtual reality-induced symptoms and effects by focusing on cybersickness, visual fatigue, muscle fatigue, acute stress, and mental overload. Usually, these VRISE are treated independently in the literature, although virtual reality is increasingly considered an option to replace PCs at the workplace, which encourages us to consider them all at once. We emphasize the context of office-like tasks in VR, gathering 57 articles meeting our inclusion/exclusion criteria. Cybersickness symptoms, influenced by fifty factors, could prevent workers from using VR. It is studied but requires more research to reach a theoretical consensus. VR can lead to more visual fatigue than other screen uses, influenced by fifteen factors, mainly due to vergence-accommodation conflicts. This side effect requires more testing and clarification on how it differs from cybersickness. VR can provoke muscle fatigue and musculoskeletal discomfort, influenced by fifteen factors, depending on tasks and interactions. VR could lead to acute stress due to technostress, task difficulty, time pressure, and public speaking. VR also potentially leads to mental overload, mainly due to task load, time pressure, and intrinsically due interaction and interface of the virtual environment. We propose a research agenda to tackle VR ergonomics and risks issues at the workplace."

"Objectives
Workplace psychosocial risk factors, including low autonomy and high demands, have negative consequences for employee mental health and wellbeing. There is a need to support employees experiencing mental health and well-being problems in these jobs. This scoping review aims to describe group-level workplace interventions and their approaches to improving the mental health and well-being of employees in office-based, low autonomy, and high demands jobs.
Methods
Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, a search was conducted across 4 databases (Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ASSIA). We explored studies presenting group-level interventions, mode of implementation, facilitators and barriers, and intervention effectiveness. The search was restricted to include office-based, low autonomy, and high-demands jobs. Primary outcome of interest was mental health and secondary outcomes were work-related and other well-being outcomes.
Results
Group-level workplace interventions include an array of organizational, relational, and individual components. Almost all included a training session or workshop for intervention delivery. Several had manuals but theories of change were rare. Most workplace interventions did not use participatory approaches to involve employees in intervention development, implementation and evaluation, and challenges and facilitators were not commonly reported. Key facilitators were shorter intervention duration, flexible delivery modes, and formalized processes (e.g. manuals). A key barrier was the changeable nature of workplace environments. All studies employing behavioural interventions reported significant improvements in mental health outcomes, while no clear pattern of effectiveness was observed for other outcomes or types of interventions employed.
Conclusions
Group-based interventions in low-autonomy office settings can be effective but few studies used participatory approaches or conducted process evaluations limiting our knowledge of the determinants for successful group-based workplace interventions. Involving stakeholders in intervention development, implementation, and evaluation is recommended and can be beneficial for better articulation of the acceptability and barriers and facilitators for delivery and engagement."

"Background:
Human-Machine Interaction (HMI) has been an important field of research in recent years, since machines will continue to be embedded in many human actvities in several contexts, such as industry and healthcare. Monitoring in an ecological mannerthe cognitive workload (CW) of users, who interact with machines, is crucial to assess their level of engagement in activities and the required effort, with the goal of preventing stressful circumstances. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the assessment of CW using wearable sensors in HMI.
Methods: this narrative review explores several techniques and procedures for collecting physiological data through wearable sensors with the possibility to integrate these multiple physiological signals, providing a multimodal monitoring of the individuals'CW. Finally, it focuses on the impact of artificial intelligence methods in the physiological signals data analysis to provide models of the CW to be exploited in HMI.
Results: the review provided a comprehensive evaluation of the wearables, physiological signals, and methods of data analysis for CW evaluation in HMI. Conclusion: the literature highlighted the feasibility of employing wearable sensors to collect physiological signals for an ecological CW monitoring in HMI scenarios. However, challenges remain in standardizing these measures across different populations and contexts."

"This study comprehensively investigates the effects of digitization in the workplace, with a specific focus on white-collar employees, using the job demands-resources (JD-R) model as a theoretical framework. By examining the intricate interplay between digital job demands and digital job resources, the research offers valuable insights to help organizations navigate the complexities caused by technological advancements. Utilizing a qualitative triangulation approach, the research combines a systematic literature review with a thematic analysis of 15 interdisciplinary expert interviews. Thereby, the study establishes a robust theoretical foundation for exploring stress, motivation, and the organizational consequences arising from integrating technology in the workplace. The JD-R model is extended to incorporate digital job demands and resources, enabling a thorough examination of both the positive and negative aspects of digitization within organizations. Moreover, the study highlights the necessity for the consistent adaptation of the JD-R model across diverse job contexts in the ever-evolving digital landscape. It advocates for organizations to effectively leverage digital resources and proactively manage job demands, aiming to transform digitization into a valuable job asset while preventing the onset of overwhelming burdens. In conclusion, the research encourages organizations to embrace the vast potential of digitization while prioritizing digital health in the workplace."

"Background
Most studies on the psychosocial working environment have focused on evaluating the isolated effect of individual psychosocial work factors or looked at effects through a lens of theories such as job strain or effort–reward imbalance. However, to fathom the intricate nature of workers' experience of occupational strain, there is a need to investigate the combined and cumulative effects of multiple exposures to psychosocial work factors on workers' health.
Methods
In this prospective cohort study, we created an additive index (range 0–4) on number of baseline exposures to quantitative demands, emotional demands, role conflicts, and workplace bullying. Via logistic regression and Cox regression, we estimated the association between the additive index of psychosocial work factors and depressive disorder and long-term sickness absence (LTSA). We assessed the onset of depressive disorder using the Major Depression Inventory at 6-month follow-up and the onset of LTSA using a national register during 12-month follow-up.
Results
For onset of depressive disorder, high exposure to any one [odds ratio (OR) 2.98], two (OR 3.14), three (OR 6.44) and all four (OR 9.62) adverse psychosocial work factors predicted a statistically significant increased risk. For onset of LTSA, high exposure to any one [hazard ratio (HR) 1.13], two (HR 1.67), three (HR 2.31) and all four (HR 4.04) psychosocial work factors predicted an increased risk. The two latter associations were statistically significant. Trend tests indicated an exposure–response relationship for both outcomes.
Conclusions
Workers reporting exposure to multiple adverse psychosocial work factors had a higher risk of developing depressive disorder and LTSA."

"Interest in the virtualization of human–robot interactions is increasing, yet the impact that collaborating with either virtual or physical robots has on the human operator's mental state is still insufficiently studied. In the present work, we aimed to fill this gap by conducting a systematic assessment of a human–robot collaborative framework from a user-centric perspective. Mental workload was measured in participants working in synergistic co-operation with a physical and a virtual collaborative robot (cobot) under different levels of task demands. Performance and implicit and explicit workload were assessed as a function of pupil size variation and self-reporting questionnaires. In the face of a similar self-reported mental demand when maneuvering the virtual or physical cobot, operators showed shorter operation times and lower implicit workload when interacting with the virtual cobot compared to its physical counterpart. Furthermore, the benefits of collaborating with a virtual cobot most vividly manifested when the user had to position the robotic arm with higher precision. These results shed light on the feasibility and importance of relying on multidimensional assessments in real-life work settings, including implicit workload predictors such as pupillometric measures. From a broader perspective, our findings suggest that virtual simulations have the potential to bring significant advantages for both the user's mental well-being and industrial production, particularly for highly complex and demanding tasks."

"Virtual reality (VR) can induce side effects known as virtual reality-induced symptoms and effects (VRISE). To address this concern, we identify a literature-based listing of these factors thought to influence VRISE with a focus on office work use. Using those, we recommend guidelines for VRISE amelioration intended for virtual environment creators and users. We identify five VRISE risks, focusing on short-term symptoms with their short-term effects. Three overall factor categories are considered: individual, hardware, and software. Over 90 factors may influence VRISE frequency and severity. We identify guidelines for each factor to help reduce VR side effects. To better reflect our confidence in those guidelines, we graded each with a level of evidence rating. Common factors occasionally influence different forms of VRISE. This can lead to confusion in the literature. General guidelines for using VR at work involve worker adaptation, such as limiting immersion times to between 20 and 30 min. These regimens involve taking regular breaks. Extra care is required for workers with special needs, neurodiversity, and gerontechnological concerns. In addition to following our guidelines, stakeholders should be aware that current head-mounted displays and virtual environments can continue to induce VRISE. While no single existing method fully alleviates VRISE, workers' health and safety must be monitored and safeguarded when VR is used at work."

"Most large-scale industrial catastrophes (like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, or Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster) result from a combination of faults in technical arrangements and neglected social structures featuring a workplace. Whereas it has been acknowledged that human-factor causes can be attributed to accidents in high-risk industries, research in this domain remains scattered and in need of integration. Considered from a psychological perspective, the primary objective of this study is therefore to systematically review existing associations between psychosocial work characteristics and safety in high-risk industries. While grounded in the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theoretical model, this study adopts a systematic literature methodology and synthesizes identified empirical evidence through a framework synthesis approach. Results indicate that there is preliminary evidence of a link between the exposure to workplace psychosocial factors and safety in high-risk industries. Studies of the linkages between psychosocial factors and safety behavior are more prevalent and do more often find significant associations between the variables than studies that investigate associations between psychosocial factors and safety outputs. Moreover, results indicate that job demand factors are likely to trigger employees' health-impairing mental/physical conditions that can constitute a precursor of unsafe behavior. Results imply as well the existence of a link between work-induced psychosocial states (typically in a form of stress or exhaustion) and safety. Limitations in the existing evidence base are recognized, thoroughly discussed with several suggestions for further development of the research field being offered. Practical and theoretical implications of the results are presented."

"This study explores the association between office design and (a) the psychosocial work environment and (b) the emotional health among 4352 employees in seven different office designs. A multivariate linear regression analysis was performed with adjustments for age and educational level for men and women separately. Results show that psychosocial factors and emotional exhaustion differ between both office designs and between genders, with best outcomes in cell offices, except for psychological demands that are rated the most favourable in shared-room offices. Cell offices and small open-plan offices show a strong beneficial association with emotional exhaustion in women. Among men, hot-desking is most problematic regarding psychosocial work environment and emotional exhaustion. Women rate the psychosocial environment low in combi-office and report emotional exhaustion in small open offices"

"BACKGROUND:

There is growing evidence that physical and psychosocial exposures at work increase the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. The aim of this study was to describe the distribution and co-occurrence of these risk factors in the working population.

METHODS:

We used data from the Health 2000 survey carried out in Finland in 2000-2001. The sample of our study consisted of 2,491 men and 2,613 women who had been actively working during the year preceding the survey. Logistic regression and exploratory factor analysis were used to analyze the co-occurrence of the work-related risk factors.

RESULTS:

Exposure to high physical work load and several co-occurring work load factors was more prevalent among men than women. In women, as opposed to men, the highest exposure to most physical work load factors was found in their later work life. Gender and age showed weak associations with psychosocial work load factors. Low socioeconomic position, in both genders, was related to an increased risk of being exposed to several co-occurring physical or psychosocial factors. Physical exposures most frequently co-occurred with high job demands and low job control in men. Among women, physical exposures were found to co-occur with high job demands, low job control and job insecurity.

CONCLUSIONS:

This study provides novel information on the occupational exposures in general working population. It appears that co-occurrence of physical and psychosocial exposures should be considered in research and prevention of musculoskeletal disorders. In addition, a broader set of occupational factors, e.g., work organization, are suggested to be included in future studies to cover all the relevant determinants."