Analysis of the Relationships between Noise Exposure and Stress/Arousal Mood at Different Levels of Workload

Abstract

Noise is one of the environmental factors with mental and physical effects. The workload is also the multiple mental and physical demands of the task. Therefore, his study investigated the relationship between noise exposure and mood states at different levels of workload. The study recruited 50 workers from the manufacturing sector (blue-collar workers) as the exposed group and 50 workers from the office sector (white-collar workers) as the control group. Their occupational noise exposure was measured by dosimetry. The Stress-Arousal Checklist (SACL) and the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) were used to measure mood and workload, respectively. The equivalent noise exposure level of the exposed group at high and very high workload levels was 85 and 87 dBA, respectively. The mean mood score of the exposed group was 76 at very high workload. The correlation coefficient between noise exposure level and mood state based on workload levels ranged from 0.3 at medium workload to 0.57 at very high workload. Noise exposure at high workload levels can increase its adverse effects, so controlling and optimizing the multiple demands of the task in the workplace can be used as a privative measure to reduce the adverse effects of noise.