Abstract
Research has shown that both workload and time are associated with fatigue; however, a functional rela-tionship does not exist. This study observed sixteen participants in their workplace (computer programming and simulation) to quantify the workload-time-fatigue relationship for sedentary tasks. Equal numbers of participants were observed in the morning and afternoon sessions. Workload was measured both subjec-tively and objectively; while fatigue was measured using the Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory (SOFI) and a modified Borg scale. Forward selection stepwise regression analysis was performed to deter-mine the underlying mathematical relationship between workload, time, and fatigue. Results indicate that for sedentary tasks, fatigue is a hyperbolic function of workload and time; meaning an inherent interaction-only relationship between workload, time, and fatigue exists. Therefore, an individual can work for longer periods of time if the workload is minimal, and vice versa.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
