Boredom in the Workplace

Cummings, Mary L.; Gao, Fei; Thornburg, Kris M.

doi:10.1177/0018720815609503

Cited by 115 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 157 publications

(173 reference statements)

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“…We observed that these correlations were particularly pronounced during the medium and high traffic volumes and less strong for the low-traffic volume. During the latter, requirements were very low and allowed air traffic controllers to have task-unrelated thoughts in order to cope with boredom (Cummings et al, 2015). Boredom proneness, coping strategy as well as the kind of task-unrelated thoughts could have mitigated the correlation between the two 25 ac/h scenarios.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indexing Mental Workload During Simulated Air Traffic Control Tasks by Means of Dual Frequency Head Maps

et al. 2020

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In our digitized society, advanced information and communication technology and highly interactive work environments impose high demands on cognitive capacity. Optimal workload conditions are important for assuring employee's health and safety of other persons. This is particularly relevant in safety-critical occupations, such as air traffic control. For measuring mental workload using the EEG, we have developed the method of Dual Frequency Head Maps (DFHM). The method was tested and validated already under laboratory conditions. However, validation of the method regarding reliability and reproducibility of results under realistic settings and real world scenarios was still required. In our study, we examined 21 air traffic controllers during arrival management tasks. Mental workload variations were achieved by simulation scenarios with different number of aircraft and the occurrence of a priority-flight request as an exceptional event. The workload was assessed using the EEG-based DFHM-workload index and instantaneous self-assessment questionnaire. The DFHM-workload index gave stable results with highly significant correlations between scenarios with similar traffic-load conditions (r between 0.671 and 0.809, p ≤ 0.001). For subjects reporting that they experienced workload variation between the different scenarios, the DFHM-workload index yielded significant differences between traffic-load levels and priority-flight request conditions. For subjects who did not report to experience workload variations between the scenarios, the DFHM-workload index did not yield any significant differences for any of the factors. We currently conclude that the DFHM-workload index reveals potential for applications outside the laboratory and yields stable results without retraining of the classifiers neither regarding new subjects nor new tasks.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indexing Mental Workload During Simulated Air Traffic Control Tasks by Means of Dual Frequency Head Maps

et al. 2020

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“…MW might actually help to cope with boredom (Schooler et al, 2014). Boredom arises when people are unable to engage in satisfying activities while blaming their environment for it (Cummings et al, 2015). Several studies by Cheyne et al (Cheyne et al, 2006; Carriere et al, 2008) point to the relationship between MW and boredom.…”

Section: Mind Wandering To Complete Ootl Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using questionnaires, they found a significant increase in everyday attentional failures for individuals more prone to boredom. Interestingly, Cummings et al (2015) recently warned about a possible increase in boredom when integrating higher levels of automation. Moreover, MW related to automation was recently observed in automated systems.…”

Section: Mind Wandering To Complete Ootl Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Intra-subject variability describes the differences observed on one subject depending on their environment. Time, fatigue, and interest are parameters that could influence MW episodes frequency, length and deepness (Smith, 1981; Smallwood et al, 2004; Cummings et al, 2015). Grandy et al (2013) demonstrated that each human has a stable alpha wave frequency that is independent from cognitive interventions.…”

Section: Limits To Current Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Autopilot, Mind Wandering, and the Out of the Loop Performance Problem

2017

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To satisfy the increasing demand for safer critical systems, engineers have integrated higher levels of automation, such as glass cockpits in aircraft, power plants, and driverless cars. These guiding principles relegate the operator to a monitoring role, increasing risks for humans to lack system understanding. The out of the loop performance problem arises when operators suffer from complacency and vigilance decrement; consequently, when automation does not behave as expected, understanding the system or taking back manual control may be difficult. Close to the out of the loop problem, mind wandering points to the propensity of the human mind to think about matters unrelated to the task at hand. This article reviews the literature related to both mind wandering and the out of the loop performance problem as it relates to task automation. We highlight studies showing how these phenomena interact with each other while impacting human performance within highly automated systems. We analyze how this proximity is supported by effects observed in automated environment, such as decoupling, sensory attention, and cognitive comprehension decrease. We also show that this link could be useful for detecting out of the loop situations through mind wandering markers. Finally, we examine the limitations of the current knowledge because many questions remain open to characterize interactions between out of the loop, mind wandering, and automation.

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“…(Chen et al, 2006). Other significant incentives include collegiality in decision-making, provision of internal communications and abundant research resources (Liu, & Perry, 2016;Cummings et al, 2016;Bharadwaj, 2014;Becerril-Ángel et al 2017). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motivation of University Authorities Aimed at Creating Favorable Learning Environment in the Course of Restructuring Higher Education Institutions

Vinichenko

Kirillov

Maloletko

et al. 2018

EURASIA J MATH SCI T

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The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of institutional changes on the working environment and health of employees working in the Centralized dean's office and students, their motivation and training duties. Research methods included observation, interviews, questionnaires and statistical approaches. Research results suggest that formation of the learning environment is most strongly influenced by a number of factors, such as institutional changes, infrastructural developments of the University managerial qualities of employees, their cooperation level with students and above all -motivation for creative and conscientious work, individual and career development conditions, socio-psychological climate and management style. The study found the following dependence of students: combination of work and study duties increased the frequency of stress cases and ill health, but increased motivation for the development of self-organization.

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Boredom in the Workplace

Abstract: Personnel selection and improvements in system and task design can potentially mitigate boredom. However, more work is needed to develop and evaluate other potential interventions.

Cited by 115 publications

References 157 publications

Indexing Mental Workload During Simulated Air Traffic Control Tasks by Means of Dual Frequency Head Maps

Indexing Mental Workload During Simulated Air Traffic Control Tasks by Means of Dual Frequency Head Maps

Autopilot, Mind Wandering, and the Out of the Loop Performance Problem

Motivation of University Authorities Aimed at Creating Favorable Learning Environment in the Course of Restructuring Higher Education Institutions

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