Studies of psychophysiological and temporal conditions of work

The main areas studied until the 70s were fatigue and rest. Many tests for fatigue were examined, and studies failed to find their practical use. Fatigue grows according to the positive acceleration curve while recovery grows according to the negative acceleration curve. Different mechanisms are involved in intelligence test performance when subjects are fatigued and when rested. Contrary to the pharmacological, psychological stimulants increase performance without adverse effects on the organism. The differences in absenteeism between male and female workers are related to family duties. After the 70s, research was focused on shiftwork. Shiftwork is associated with imposed change in a worker's normal activity pattern. It brings about fatigue, negative moods, and impaired health, sleep, safety, and working capacity. The shiftwork tolerance is connected with introversion, neuroticism, morningness, control of behavioural arousal, and parameters of circadian rhythms. The most important predictors of shiftwork tolerance are dimensions of control of behavioural arousal and morningness, while the most important criterion is sleep quality.