Cognitive Ergonomic-Driven Technology: A Pathway to Improve Mental Workload, Body Posture, and Work Performance of Ageing Workers in Office Setting

Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems 23(2), 118-129, 2025 COGNITIVE ERGONOMIC-DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY: A PATHWAY TO IMPROVE MENTAL WORKLOAD, BODY POSTURE, AND WORK PERFORMANCE OF AGEING WORKERS IN OFFICE SETTING Nurul Izzah Abd Rahman1, 2 * and Muhammad Nazirul Iszat Ismail1 1 Universiti Putra Malaysia, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering 1 Serdang, Malaysia 2 Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing (MyAgeing) 1 Serdang, Malaysia 1 DOI: 10.7906/indecs.23.2.5 Regular article Received: 26 September 2024. Accepted: 21 November 2024. ABSTRACT Ageing may reduce cognitive function, impacting thinking, reasoning, and memory. One of the potential solutions to address this issue is by utilizing Cognitive-Driven Technology (CEDT). The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of cognitive ergonomic-driven technology on the perceived mental workload, working posture, and task performance of ageing workers. Eight ageing workers were instructed to perform two types of tasks (arithmetic and typing) in two segments (i.e., Segment A (baseline) and Segment B (consisting of CEDT interventions). The accuracy and efficiency of tasks from both segments were evaluated. Mental workload measures (NASA-TLX and Heart rate) and body posture were recorded during the task execution. The recordings were utilized in developing the scenario in a design software, which then further analyzed the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) score. One of the crucial findings has been achieved, which result of the correlation analysis shows that in segment B, there was a strong and significant negative correlation between the RULA score and task performance score (r = – 0,781, p = 0,022). This means that as the RULA score decreases (indicating better working posture), the task performance improves. These findings emphasize CEDT’s role in maintaining good posture for performance. KEY WORDS ageing, RULA, cognitive-driven technology, workload, office worker CLASSIFICATION JEL: I12, J81 *Corresponding author, : ; -; - Cognitive ergonomic-driven technology: a pathway to improve mental workload, body posture, ... INTRODUCTION Malaysia is experiencing notable trend of ageing phenomenon, with a growing number of elderly individuals. According to the latest statistical data by Department of Statistics Malaysia, the total population of elderly in Quartile 1 in 2023 is 6,2 million, while in 2024 the number has increased to 6,3 million. The trend of ageing phenomenon in Malaysia signifies the magnifying of ageing workforce in the country. Employers, policymakers, and society must adopt age-inclusive practices and policies so that they are able to address challenges faced by ageing workforce and exploit their potentials. Leveraging the potential of ageing workforce is a very demanding effort. As ageing processes took place, human body experienced degenerative changes [1, 2]. During the events, there will be physical and mental function deterioration, risk of sickness increases and eventually death occurs [3, 4]. Mental workload evaluation in work activities nowadays has caught the attention of researchers and industries to ensure safety, health, comfort, long-term productivity and efficiency of the worker [5, 6]. Subjective measurement is a self-rating method to evaluate the mental workload experienced when performing tasks. Examples of widely used self-rating tools include NASA Task Load Index (TLX), Subjective Workload Assessment Technique and Workload Profile [7]. Objective measurement is more towards measuring physiological responses observed when performing tasks. Some of the widely accepted and validated measurements are heart rate derived from the electrocardiogram (ECG), brain signal extracted from electroencephalogram (EEG), eye-blinks measured from electrooculogram (EOG) and skin conductance response involving electrodermal activity sensors [8, 9]. The third category is performance measurement where it is based on the task context. Some of the common examples are measurement of error rate, reaction and response time and counts of procedures and tasks completed [10, 11]. Executing office tasks either traditionally or with the assistance of advanced technologies would require appropriate workstation setup. An ideal workstation is one that is established with reference to ergonomic principles. Changes in working postures were reported to be significantly correlated to mentally demanding working situations involving time pressure, intensity, and duration of the task [12]. RULA is one of the reliable tools to evaluate posture during task execution involving workers’ upper limb [13, 14]. Digital and virtual assistants have been part of our working routines, especially in the era of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR or Industry 4.0). Computers and systems were integrated with machine learning mainly to support the human cognitive aspects resulting in smart and automated applications. Cognitive ergonomics-driven technology (CEDT) is an innovative approach that combines the fields of cognitive science and ergonomics, aiming to enhance the work environment’s comfort and efficiency. Areas utilizing CEDT applications are vast. One of the applications is Natural Language Processing (NLP) which assists in transmitting information from human to computer. Another popular machine learning application that facilitates cognitive functioning is optical character recognition (OCR). This technology enables the conversion of scanned paper documents into editable and searchable text data [15]. Main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of cognitive ergonomic-driven technologies on ageing workers’ mental workload, working posture and task performance. Also, this study aims to determine the relationship between mental workload and working posture, and how these important variables affect task performance. The existing knowledge on ageing workers would gain new dimensions relating to the crucial role of cognitive ergonomics interventions in assisting ageing workers in office settings. Additionally, analyzing the relationship between mental workload and body posture will establish a foundation for future exploration into the influence of perceived mental workload over physical demands in the context of ageing workers. The main hypotheses guiding this work are as follows. 119 N.I.A. Rahman and M.N.I. Ismail H1: Interventions of cognitive ergonomic-driven technologies in work tasks will reduce perceived mental workload, improve working posture, and increase the task performance score. H2: There is a relationship between mental workload and working posture and it will affect the task performance of ageing workers. METHODOLOGY PARTICIPANTS Eight participants (aged 50 and above, M = 60,63 year, SD = 8,19 year) were recruited via email and social media. The sample size was determined by power analysis to ensure an observed power of (...truncated)