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Original Communication

Busy at Work and Absent-Minded at Home

Mental Workload, Cognitive Failure, and Domestic Falls

Published Online:September 10, 2013https://doi.org/10.1024/1421-0185/a000114

Abstract

This study investigates whether cognitive failures mediate the potential influence of work demands and conscientiousness on body balance problems and domestic near-falls at home after work. The participants were 109 employees (55% female). We used the Workplace Cognitive Failure Scale (WCFS) to measure the frequency of failure in memory function, failure in attention regulation, and failure in action execution. Performance constraints, time pressure, and concentration demands were assessed by the Instrument for Stress-Oriented Task Analysis (ISTA). In a structural equation model, work-related cognitive failure significantly mediated the influence of work demands on after-work domestic body balance problems encountered in the previous 4 weeks. Work-related cognitive failure did not mediate the directional link between conscientiousness and body balance problems. Mental work demands have aftereffects after work is finished. The risk of domestic fall is due in part to cognitive failure that reflects cognitive strain from mental workload. Work redesign is likely to reduce the risk of falling not only at work, but also after work at home.

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