Evaluation the Relationship between Mental Workload and  Fatigue in Shahroud Bank Employees

Vahid VASILOUEE; Azim KARIMI; Seyedeh‌Solmaz TALEBI

doi:10.18502/ohhp.v6i2.10307

Vahid VASILOUEE Occupational Health and Safety Engineering Department, School of Public Health, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran
Azim KARIMI Occupational Health and Safety Engineering Department, School of Public Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Seyedeh‌Solmaz TALEBI Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ohhp.v6i2.10307

Keywords: Ergonomics, Mental Workload, NASA Workload Index

Abstract

Introduction: Mental workload has been raised as one of the most important issues in the workplace. In jobs where there is a lot of workload, due to fatigue and improper scheduling, efficiency is reduced, causing decreased memory, impairs thinking, and decreased learning. Tired people are more likely to choose risky behaviors, such as taking shortcuts to perform their tasks. This study aims to determine the relationship between mental workload and fatigue in bank employees.

Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 190 employees of Shahroud Bank in 2019. In order to collect data, the questioning method was done using NASA task load index (NASA TLX) for measuring mental workload and multidimensional fatigue inventory (MFI). Data analysis was performed by SPSS 22 at the significance level of 0.05 using Spearman statistical test.

Results: Bank employees had a degree of mental workload with mean score of 75.06, and two factors of mental stress and efficiency were relatively more important than other subscales. In terms of fatigue, bank employees had an overall degree of fatigue with mean score of 52.46, and two factors of general and mental fatigue were more important in their job.

Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the overall mental workload is directly related to the activity reduction component. The decrease in activity also has the highest correlation with efficiency, mental, and time subscales, which reduces the activity and productivity of bank employees.