Individual Factors Related to Mental Workload in Air Traffic Controller

Abstract

Mental or cognitive workload is an essential factor in Air Traffic Control (ATC). Besides the task demand, there are various types of individual factors that affect the workload felt by the Air Traffic Controller (ATCo). Therefore, this study aims to examine the relationship between individual factors and perceived mental workload using NASA-TLX. A total of 256 questionnaires were successfully collected from Air Traffic Controllers in the busiest airport in Indonesia. All observed groups indicated high perceived workload scores, with F-Test of One-way ANOVA used to confirm the relationship between individual factors and mental workload. The result showed that the workload is significantly related to the gender specification and working experience of ATCos. Fewer working years and female gender tended to have lower perceived workload than other groups. On the other hand, the difference in unit tasks (ACC and APP) and age failed to differ the perceived workload significantly. The result confirms that the mental workload of ATCo is high, and affected by some individual factors.