• Projektnummer : F 2439
• Projektdurchführung : Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA)
• Status : Abgeschlossenes Projekt

Projektbeschreibung :

Noise can significantly impair employees' concentration, health, and performance, even below the action levels specified in occupational safety and health regulations. Therefore, the research project investigated the effects of background noise on cognitive performance in the workplace.

The aim was to identify suitable physiological and neurophysiological measurement methods that allow the recording of effort during common cognitive tasks under noisy conditions. Background noise can not only directly influence work performance but can also be compensated for by increased effort, which could cause long-term health problems such as stress or exhaustion.

The project combined a systematic literature review, an exchange with experts, practical tests, and a pilot study. In the pilot study, both subjective (i.e., surveys of individual self-assessment) and objective methods were examined. These methods were then analyzed to see if they could reliably measure mental workload attributed to background noise. Initial results from the data analysis from the multidimensional measurement system (EEG, EKG and EDA) indicate that background noise can increase mental stress even when no immediate performance losses at the behavioral task level are observable. The three identified neurophysiological measurement methods, combined with the proposed machine learning algorithm (support vector machine classification), provided insights into the cognitive dynamics underlying mental workload during exposure to noise when processing cognitive tasks at the same time. Such tools are important for optimising work environments by making it possible to objectively measure non-auditory noise effects that were previously only reported subjectively to be stressful. For research, this opens up new possibilities for better understanding the connection between auditory effects of irrelevant sounds and mental workload.

The results indicate a need for action in practice: Acoustically, working environments must be designed to protect employees' health in the long term. Individual differences and contexts also play a role. The findings will be applied and deepened in follow-up projects to expand the empirical basis for protective measures in acoustic occupational health and safety.