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{{Short description|Amount of work to be performed per unit time}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2013}}
The term '''workload''' can refer to several different yet related entities.
==An amount of labor==
{{Labor}}
An old definition refers to workload as the amount of work an individual has to do.<ref name="Jex 1998">Jex, S. M. (1998). Stress and job performance: Theory, research, and implications for managerial practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.</ref> There is a distinction between the actual amount of work and the individual's perception of the workload. <ref name = "Jex 1998"/>
To distinguish the two types, the term 'mental workload' (MWL) is often preferred, clearly indicating the latter type, which refers to the workload experienced by a human, regardless of the task's difficulty. This is because the same underlying task might generate two distinct mental responses and experiences, thus, different cognitive load amounts, even if executed by the same person. Many definitions of mental workload have been proposed in the years.<ref name="Longo 2022">{{cite journal | author = Longo L., Wickens C. D., Hancock G. and Hancock P. A. | year = 2022 | title = Human Mental Workload: A Survey and a Novel Inclusive Definition| journal = Front. Psychol. | volume = 12 | doi = 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.883321 | pmid = 35719509 | doi-access = free | pmc = 9201728 | hdl = 10147/635016 | hdl-access = free }}{{Creative Commons text attribution notice|cc=by4|from this source=yes}}</ref>
A more recent and operational definition is that "Mental workload (MWL) represents the degree of activation of a finite pool of resources, limited in capacity, while cognitively processing a primary task over time, mediated by external stochastic environmental and situational factors, as well as affected by definite internal characteristics of a human operator, for coping with static task demands, by devoted effort and attention".<ref name = "Longo 2022"/> This definition has emerged from a systematic review of the construct of mental workload by analysing many published research works and all the ad-hoc definitions that have emerged in the last 60 years. It has also been influenced by the Multiple Resource Theory, described below, and the notion of human, multiple resources.▼
▲A more recent and operational definition is that "Mental workload (MWL) represents the degree of activation of a finite pool of resources, limited in capacity, while cognitively processing a primary task over time, mediated by external stochastic environmental and situational factors, as well as affected by definite internal characteristics of a human operator, for coping with static task demands, by devoted effort and attention".<ref name
The assessment of operator workload has a strong impact on new human-machine systems [[design]]. By evaluating operator workload during the design of a new [[system]], or [[iteration]] of an existing system, problems such as workload [[bottleneck (project management)|bottleneck]]s and [[Mechanical overload (engineering)|overload]] can be identified. As the human operator is a central part of a human-machine system, correcting these problems is necessary to operate safe and efficient systems. An [[operating budget]] may include estimates of the expected workload for a specific activity. 'Workload' or 'cognitive load' is often confused with '[[cognitive load theory]]'. The latter is referred to as the actual construct of Cognitive Load (CL), or mental workload (MWL). In contrast, the former is referred to a specific [[Cognitivism (psychology)|cognitivist]] learning theory within the larger field of [[pedagogy]] and [[instructional design]].
==Quantified effort==
Workload can also refer to the total energy output of a system, particularly of a person or animal performing a strenuous task over time. One particular application of this is [[powerlifting|weight lifting]]/[[weights training]], where both anecdotal evidence and scientific research have shown that it is the total "workload" that is important to muscle growth, as opposed to just the load, just the volume, or "time under tension". In these and related uses, "workload" can be broken up into "work+load", referring to the work done with a given load. In terms of weights training, the "load" refers to the heaviness of the weight being lifted (20 kg is a more significant load than 10 kg), and "work" refers to the volume, or the total number of [[wots this?|rep]]s and sets done with that weight (20 reps are more work than ten reps, but two sets of 10 reps are the same work as 1 set of 20 reps, its just that the human body cannot do 20reps of heavy weight without a rest, so its best to think of 2x10 as being 20 reps, with a rest in the middle).
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Workload has been linked to a number of strains, including [[anxiety]], physiological reactions such as [[cortisol]], fatigue,<ref>{{cite journal | author = Ganster D. C., Rosen C. C. | year = 2013 | title = Work stress and employee health: A multidisciplinary review | journal = Journal of Management | volume = 39 | issue = 5| pages = 1085–1122 | doi = 10.1177/0149206313475815 | s2cid = 145477630 }}</ref> backache, headache, and gastrointestinal problems.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Nixon A. E., Mazzola J. J., Bauer J., Krueger J. R., Spector P. E. | year = 2011 | title = Can work make you sick? A meta-analysis of the relationships between job stressors and physical symptoms | journal = Work & Stress | volume = 25 | issue = 1| pages = 1–22 | doi = 10.1080/02678373.2011.569175 | s2cid = 144068069 }}</ref>
Workload as a work demand is a major component of the demand-control model of stress.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Karasek R. A. | year = 1979 | title = Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain-implications for job redesign | journal = Administrative Science Quarterly | volume = 24 | issue = 2| pages = 285–308 | doi=10.2307/2392498| jstor = 2392498 }}</ref> This model suggests that jobs with high demands can be stressful, especially when the individual has low control over the job. In other words, control serves as a buffer or protective factor when demands or workload is high. This model was expanded into the demand-control-support model, which suggests that the combination of high control and high social support at work buffers the effects of high demands.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Johnson J. V., Hall E. M. | year = 1988 | title = Job strain, work place social support, and cardiovascular disease: A cross-sectional study of a random sample of the Swedish working population | journal = American Journal of Public Health | volume = 78 | issue = 10| pages = 1336–1342 | doi=10.2105/ajph.78.10.1336| pmid = 3421392 | pmc = 1349434}}</ref> A 2019 survey by Cartridge People identified workload as the main cause of occupational stress.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What's Causing UK Workers Stress in 2019 |url=https://www.cartridgepeople.com/info/blog/uk-workers-stress-statistics |access-date=2023-10-28 |website=www.cartridgepeople.com |language=en}}</ref>
As a work demand, workload is also relevant to the [[job demands-resources model]] of stress that suggests that jobs are stressful when demands (e.g., workload) exceed the individual's resources to deal with them.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Demerouti E., Bakker A. B., Nachreiner F., Schaufeli W. B. | year = 2001 | title = The job demands-resources model of burnout | journal = Journal of Applied Psychology | volume = 86 | issue = 3| pages = 499–512 | doi = 10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.499 | pmid = 11419809 }}</ref><ref>Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2014). Job demands-resources theory. In P. Y. Chen & C. L. Cooper (Eds.). Work and wellbeing Vol. III (pp. 37-64), Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell</ref>
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Workload modelling is the analytical technique used to measure and predict workload. The main objective of assessing and predicting cognitive workload is to achieve an evenly distributed, manageable workload and to avoid overload or underload. Another aspect of workload is the mathematical predictive models used in human factors analysis to support the design and assessment of safety-critical systems.
===Theories===
[[File:KTS1workload.jpg|thumb|Figure 1: Wickens' Multiple Resource Theory (MRT) Model]]
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{{Workplace}}
{{Organized labor}}
[[Category:Industrial and organizational psychology]]
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