Cognitive Load and Occupational Injuries

Eric Bonsang and Eve Caroli

No 14137, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We investigate the relationship between cognitive load and occupational injuries. Cognitive load is defined in the literature as a tax on bandwidth which reduces cognitive resources. We proxy cognitive load with the number of non-professional tasks that individuals perform during weekdays. The underlying assumption is that when individuals perform many of those tasks, this requires mental organization which reduces available cognitive resources. We show that being cognitively loaded is associated with an increase in the risk of occupational injury for both males and females. The effect is stronger for individuals in high-risk occupations and, among those, for low-educated workers.

Keywords: work injury; cognitive load; time-use data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D91 J28 J81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2021-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-lab
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Published - published in: Industrial Relations, 2021, 60(2), 219-242.

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Journal Article: Cognitive Load and Occupational Injuries (2021)
Working Paper: Cognitive Load and Occupational Injuries (2021)
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