Evaluation of Mental workload and Work ability among Industrial Workers after Covid-19

Abstract

Background and purpose: Getting infected with Covid-19 can affect the physical and mental aspects of people. Therefore, the present study was carried out with the aim of determining the work load, mental and work ability index (WAI) in Covid-19 patients in manufacturing industries. Materials and methods: The present descriptive-analytical study was conducted as a case-control study in 2022 among 406 workers in manufacturing industries (Infected with Covid-19= 203 people, uninfected= 203 people). Demographic information questionnaire was used to collect individual information, NASA Task Load Index (TLX) questionnaire was employed to determine mental workload, and WAI (Work Ability Index) questionnaire was used to determine the ability. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and analytical (T-test and Chi-Square tests) and SPSS software (V.25). Results: Results showed that the average and standard deviation of the workers' age and work experience were 35.48±6.98 and 8.11±6.98, respectively. WAI with an average of 40.49, significantly less than the uninfected workers with an average of 43.29 (P= 0.001). It was also found that the mental workload among infected workers with an average of 67.76 was significantly higher than that of uninfected workers with an average of 63.79 (P= 0.001). Conclusion: The findings revealed that the WAI among workers with a history of covid-19 infection was lower than workers without a history of infection, and the mental workload among infected workers was higher than uninfected workers. It is suggested that necessary executive and organizational measures should be taken into consideration in order to improve the work ability and reduce the mental workload of workers who have a history of being infected with Covid-19..

Keywords

• covid-19
• work ability index
• mental workload
• nasa-tlx