Relationship between perceived psychic workload and heart rate reactivity in industrial women managers

The paper presents the results of an investigation into the physiological cost of psychic load in the profession of industrial managers. The psychic workload was estimated on the basis of an evaluation of work requirements and the ability to meet them in terms of mental difficulty, monotony, risk, responsibility, interpersonal conflicts and time pressure. The physiological cost was estimated on the basis of heart rate at work, during leisure time and sleep. Heart rate at work indicated that occupational tasks carried significant psychic load. Notably, the analysis of requirements involving risk showed them to be the most important factor affecting heart rate. Physiological effects of psychic load at work persisted round the clock, which is reflected by a correlation between heart rate during leisure time and sleep and some measures of load and/or working time.