Abstract
The present contribution presents two field studies combining tools and methods from cognitive psychology and from occupational psychology in order to perform a thorough investigation of workload in employees. Cognitive load theory proposes to distinguish different load categories of working memory, in a context of instruction. Intrinsic load is inherent to the task, extraneous load refers to components of a learning environment that may be modified to reduce total load, and germane load enables schemas construction and thus efficient learning. We showed previously that this theoretical framework may be successfully extended to working memory tasks in non-instructional designs. Other theoretical models, issued from the field of occupational psychology, account for an individual’s perception of work demands or requirements in the context of different psychosocial features of the (work) environment. Combining these approaches is difficult as workload assessment by job-perception questionnaires explore an individual’s overall job-perception over a large time-period, whereas cognitive load investigations in working memory tasks are typically performed within short time-periods. We proposed an original methodology enabling investigation of workload and load factors in a comparable time-frame. We report two field studies investigating workload on different shift-phases and between work-shifts, with two custom-made tools. The first one enabled workload assessment by manipulating intrinsic load (task difficulty) and extraneous load (time pressure) in a working-memory task. The second tool was a questionnaire based on the theoretical concepts of work-demands, control, and psychosocial support. Two additional dimensions suspected to contribute to job-perception, i.e., work–family conflicts and availability of human and technical resources were also explored. Results of workload assessments were discussed in light of operators’ alertness and job-performance.
Highlights
Two fundamental research questions have driven working memory research during the past four decades
A different profile emerges for the two job-situations, indicating that finely tuned and temporally situated investigations of workload are most probably specific to a given job situation (Siegrist, 2010). This may be attributed to the characteristics of the work activity, with a high-load event systematically scheduled on shift beginning for air traffic controllers, enabling anticipation of this workload as expressed by higher alertness and cognitive performance, as well as an association between task demands and resources in the work environment
The tools developed for the field studies reported in the present contribution were derived from different research fields and included subjective and objective workload measures
Summary
Two fundamental research questions have driven working memory research during the past four decades. We will review more especially cognitive load theory that proposes a distinction between different load categories and factors in working memory, and job-strain models that consider job-demands in relation to other job-related dimensions. Both these approaches will be discussed together with an additional concept that is central to those studies focusing on workload in shift-work or nightwork conditions, i.e., alertness variations and performance variations across the 24 h-day in shift-workers. SINGLE VERSUS MULTIPLE MENTAL RESOURCES DURING INFORMATION PROCESSING One of the first models proposed to account for cognitive performance by mental resources can be found in Kahneman’s (1973) influential book on attention. Human performance is supported by a general pool of mental “effort” and the www.frontiersin.org
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