Cognitive Ergonomics: A Relationship between Mind and Work

The amount of time, effort, and focus a human mind puts into a task determines its outcome, and indeed the task’s nature has an impact on the human mind. There is no denying that engaging in cognitively challenging work gives one a chance to learn, is exciting, boosts self-efficacy, improves engagement at work, and provides one a sense of competence. But what leads to a negative impact is a change in the frequency and intensity of the work. Long-term involvement in challenging tasks can have several negative effects including cognitive fatigue, confabulation, attention problems, and frustration from a subpar performance which causes cognitive strain and psychological distress. Cognitive ergonomics, an emerging area of ergonomics, explains how the mind and work are influenced by one another. It utilizes an applied perspective of psychology in order to achieve the optimization between individuals and their work. This paper examines various ergonomic components that contribute to the overall psychological health of employees in a workplace.