Mental and physical components of sawmill operatives' workload

Abstract

The mental and physical components of the workload for six categories of hardwood sawmill workers were investigated using urinary Cortisol and catecholamines, oxygen consumption and self-assessed level of workload.

Adrenaline concentration in urine was significantly higher for sawyers than for others with a higher energy output. The sawyers also had a significantly lower ratio of noradrenaline to adrenaline. Both adrenaline and the ratio correlated with self-assessed mental effort, whereas noradrenaline and dopamine correlated with self-assessed physical effort. The circadian pattern of Cortisol excretion was similar in all categories of workers. The results indicate that catecholamines in urine are useful for evaluating the mental component of an individual's workload.

Keywords:

• Mental workload
• Physical workload
• Self-assessment
• Catecholamines
• Cortisol
• Urine
• Circadian Rhythms.