Stress-Related Responses to Alternations between Repetitive Physical Work and Cognitive Tasks of Different Difficulties

Susanna Mixter, Svend Erik Mathiassen, Petra Lindfors, Kent Dimberg, Helena Jahncke, Eugene Lyskov and David M. Hallman
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Susanna Mixter: Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Department of Occupational Health Sciences and Psychology, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden
Svend Erik Mathiassen: Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Department of Occupational Health Sciences and Psychology, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden
Petra Lindfors: Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, 114 19 Stockholm, Sweden
Kent Dimberg: Department of Electrical Engineering Mathematics and Science, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden
Helena Jahncke: Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Department of Occupational Health Sciences and Psychology, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden
Eugene Lyskov: Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Department of Occupational Health Sciences and Psychology, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden
David M. Hallman: Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Department of Occupational Health Sciences and Psychology, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 22, 1-18

Abstract: Alternating between physical and cognitive tasks has been proposed as an alternative in job rotation, allowing workers to recover from the physical work while still being productive. However, effects of such alternations on stress have not been investigated. This controlled experiment aimed at determining the extent to which stress-related responses develop during alternating physical and cognitive work, and to determine the extent to which cognitive task (CT) difficulty influences these responses. Fifteen women performed three sessions of 10 consecutive work bouts each including a seven-minute repetitive physical task (pipetting) and a three-minute CT ( n -back) at one of three difficulty levels. Stress was assessed in terms of changes in heart rate variability, blood pressure, salivary alpha-amylase, salivary cortisol, perceived stress, and cognitive performance. The work session did not result in any marked stress response, and CT difficulty did not significantly influence stress, apart from alpha-amylase being higher at the easiest CT (F = 5.34, p = 0.02). Thus, according to our results, alternating between repetitive physical tasks and cognitive tasks may be a feasible alternative to classic job rotation between physical tasks only, even if the cognitive task is quite difficult. Future studies should address possible effects of the temporal pattern of alternations, and combine even other occupationally relevant tasks, preferably for extended periods of time.

Keywords: recovery; mental task; physical task; women; repetitive work; job rotation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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