Mobile Wissensarbeit in öffentlichen Fernzügen – Höhere mentale Beanspruchung als im Einzelbüro bei der mobilen Bearbeitung von Routineaufgaben

Abstract

Remote work in public long-distance trains – Higher mental load than in a single office during remote processing of routine tasks Objective: More and more commuters and travelers are using their time in long-distance trains for mobile work. The impact of working in this environment on the resulting mental workload is not well understood. As part of an extensive field study, the study discussed in this paper addresses mental workload during the execution of routine remote work in the ICE. Methods: 59 persons performed a routine task in an ICE train: For two hours, they processed fictitious customer inquiries in a ticket system. Every 10 minutes, their stress level was measured using the SEA scale (Eilers et al. 1986). In a control condition in the laboratory, the same individuals completed a comparable task in a single office. Results: A pairwise comparison (Wilcoxon signed-rank test) revealed significantly higher mental load during in-train working. Examination of age effects indicates that mental load in the train condition increases with age. Conclusion: When performing routine remote work on an ICE train, it must be assumed that the work environment will lead to higher mental workload. Task content and temporal scope should be adjusted accordingly to ensure safe and healthy work. Keywords: remote work – routine task – mental strain – public transport – cognitive ergonomics