Why does work cause fatigue? A real-time investigation of fatigue, and determinants of fatigue in nurses working 12-hour shifts

Johnston, Derek; Allan, Julia; Powell, Daniel; Jones, Martyn; Bell, Cheryl; Johnston, Marie

doi:10.1093/abm/kay065

Cited by 47 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…We also found that the utility associated with labor and leisure tasks differs between people and changes over time. Against the background that the energy metaphor (i.e., the idea that the feeling of fatigue indicates that some metaphorical mental battery is almost depleted) is increasingly being questioned (e.g., Hagger et al, 2016;Kurzban, 2016;Shenhav et al, 2017), our studies cautiously support modern views of fatigue that propose that fatigue and related phenomenology (e.g., effort, Bijleveld, 2018;boredom, Westgate & Wilson, 2018) reflect the non-energetic costs of engaging with the current activity (Hockey, 2011;Johnston et al, 2018;Kurzban, 2016;Shenhav et al, 2017). In future research, it may well be useful to continue to think of fatigue as a motivational phenomenon.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 61%

The effect of opportunity costs on mental fatigue in labor/leisure tradeoffs

Dora¹,

Hooff²,

Geurts³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Most people experience the feeling of mental fatigue on a daily basis. Previous research shows that mental fatigue impacts information processing and decision making. However, the proximal causes of mental fatigue are not yet well understood. In this research, we test the opportunity cost model of mental fatigue, which proposes that people become more fatigued when the next-best alternative to the current task is higher in value. In three preregistered experiments (total N = 300), participants repeatedly reported their current level of fatigue and chose to perform a paid labor task vs an unpaid leisure task. In Study 1, all participants were offered the same labor/leisure choice. In Studies 2 and 3, we manipulated the opportunity costs of a labor task through the value of an alternative leisure task. In all studies, we found that people were more likely to choose for leisure as they became more fatigued. We did not find that the manipulated leisure value influenced the amount of fatigue participants experienced nor the likelihood to choose for leisure. However, in exploratory analyses, we found (and replicated) that participants who reported to value the leisure task more got more fatigued during labor and less fatigued during leisure. Collectively, these results provide cautious support for the opportunity cost model, but they also show that cost-benefit analyses relating to labor and leisure tasks are fleeting.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 61%

The effect of opportunity costs on mental fatigue in labor/leisure tradeoffs

Dora¹,

Hooff²,

Geurts³

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Unsurprisingly, the model once more estimates that participants half a standard deviation higher than the average in FOMO use their smartphone for 37 seconds more in 20 minutes (95% CI = [-3.38, 81.51]). The model also estimates weak evidence that the relationship between boredom and subsequent smartphone use may be stronger for those participants lower in FOMO (meanint = -33.28, 95% CI = [-75.42, 16.94]). We conclude that there is no evidence for an effect of fatigue and boredom on the amount of time the smartphone is used, provided that it is used at all.…”

Section: Fatigue Boredom and Smartphone Use At Workmentioning

confidence: 92%

Fatigue, boredom, and objectively-measured smartphone use at work

Dora¹,

Hooff²,

Geurts³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Nowadays, many people take short breaks with their smartphone at work. The decision whetherto continue working or to take a smartphone break is a so-called labor vs leisure decision. Motivational models predict that people are more likely to switch from labor (work) to leisure (smartphone) the more fatigue or boredom they experience. In turn, fatigue and boredom are expected to decrease after the smartphone was used. However, it is not yet clear how smartphone use at work relates to fatigue and boredom. In this study, we tested these relationships in both directions. Participants (N = 83) reported their current level of fatigue and boredom every hour at work while an application continuously logged their smartphone use. Results indicate that participants were more likely to interact with their smartphone the more fatigued or bored they were, but that they did not use it for longer when more fatigued or bored. Surprisingly, participants reported increased fatigue and boredom after having used the smartphone (more). While future research is necessary, our results a) provide real-life evidence for the notion that fatigue and boredom trigger task disengagement and b) suggest that taking a short break with the smartphone may have phenomenological costs.

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“…O'Connell et al, ; Randles, Harlow, & Inzlicht, ). Moreover, aside from a recent study—which found that subjective depletion over two 12‐hour nursing shifts was not associated with perceived work demands or physical energy expended but with perceived control and reward associated with the work—studies investigating which and when individuals are more prone to ego depletion in daily life do not exist (Johnston et al, ).…”

Section: Evidence For Ego Depletion In Daily Lifementioning

confidence: 99%

Let There be Variance: Individual Differences in Consecutive Self–Control in A Laboratory Setting and Daily Life

et al. 2019

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The large body of research used to support ego‐depletion effects is currently faced with conceptual and replication issues, leading to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect. By using within‐person designs in a laboratory (Study 1; 187 participants) and an ambulatory assessment study (Study 2; 125 participants), we sought to clarify this ambiguity by investigating whether prominent situational variables (such as motivation and affect) or personality traits can help elucidate when ego depletion can be observed and when not. Although only marginal ego‐depletion effects were found in both studies, these effects varied considerably between individuals, indicating that some individuals experience self‐control decrements after initial self‐control exertion and others not. However, neither motivation nor affect nor personality traits such as trait self‐control could consistently explain this variability when models were applied that controlled for variance due to targets and the depletion manipulation (Study 1) or days (Study 2) as well as for multiple testing. We discuss how the operationalization and reliability of our key measures may explain these null effects and demonstrate that alternative metrics may be required to study the consequences of the consecutive exertion of self‐control. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology

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Why does work cause fatigue? A real-time investigation of fatigue, and determinants of fatigue in nurses working 12-hour shifts

Abstract: Findings provide little support for a resource depletion model; however, the finding that control and reward both predicted fatigue is consistent with a motivational account of fatigue.

Cited by 47 publications

References 38 publications

The effect of opportunity costs on mental fatigue in labor/leisure tradeoffs

The effect of opportunity costs on mental fatigue in labor/leisure tradeoffs

Fatigue, boredom, and objectively-measured smartphone use at work

Let There be Variance: Individual Differences in Consecutive Self–Control in A Laboratory Setting and Daily Life

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