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Examining Cognitive Workload During Covid-19: A Qualitative Study

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Human Mental Workload: Models and Applications (H-WORKLOAD 2021)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 1493))

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Abstract

Covid-19 has caused a shift in the working environment, with people mandated to work from home where possible in the UK since March 2020. Cognitive workload is sensitive to environmental changes, so it’s possible that in moving from the office to working from home, people’s cognitive workload has been impacted. The research outlined presents findings from 11 interviews with office workers on whether their cognitive workload has been impacted due to changes in the working environment, consequence of Covid-19. Thematic analysis identified three themes that impact cognitive workload: The home environment, differing distractions and no longer having to commute. The paper finishes with a discussion of these themes in relation to cognitive workload and Covid-19 literature, as well as some recommendations on how employers should be flexible with employees to optimise workload.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Transport Risk Management, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, United Kingdom, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

    Robert Houghton, Dalia Lister & Arnab Majumdar

Authors
  1. Robert Houghton
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  2. Dalia Lister
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  3. Arnab Majumdar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert Houghton .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Luca Longo

  2. Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Maria Chiara Leva

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Houghton, R., Lister, D., Majumdar, A. (2021). Examining Cognitive Workload During Covid-19: A Qualitative Study. In: Longo, L., Leva, M.C. (eds) Human Mental Workload: Models and Applications. H-WORKLOAD 2021. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1493. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91408-0_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91408-0_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-91407-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-91408-0

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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