BACKGROUND Cognitively straining conditions such as disruptions, interruptions, and information overload are related to impaired task performance and diminished well-being at work. It is therefore essential that we reduce their harmful consequences to individual employees and organizations. Our intervention study implements practices for managing the cognitive strain typical to office work tasks and working conditions in offices. We will examine the effects of a cognitive ergonomics intervention on working conditions, workflow, well-being, and productivity. METHODS/DESIGN The study is a stratified cluster randomized trial. The clusters are work units, for example, teams or offices. The four participating organizations entered a total of 36 clusters, and we invited all 1169 knowledge employees of these units to participate. We randomly allocated the clusters into an intervention group (cognitive ergonomics) or an active control group (recovery supporting). We invited an additional 471 participants to join a passive control group only for baseline and follow-up measurements, with no intervention. The study consists of a baseline survey and interviews and observations at the workplace, followed by an intervention. It starts with a workshop defining the specific actions for the intervention implementation stage, during which we send task reminder questionnaires to all employees to support behaviour change at the individual and team levels. The primary outcome measure is perceived frequency of cognitive strain from working conditions; the secondary outcome measures include subjective cognitive load, well-being, workflow/productivity, and cognitive stress symptoms. Process evaluation uses the quantitative and qualitative data obtained during the implementation and evaluation phases. The baseline measurements, intervention phase, and end-of-treatment measurements are now complete, and follow-up will continue until November 2019. DISCUSSION There is a need to expand the research of cognitive strain, which poses a considerable risk to work performance and employee well-being in cognitively demanding tasks. Our study will provide new information about factors that contribute to such strain. Most importantly, the results will show which evidence-based cognitive ergonomic practices support work performance in knowledge work, and the project will provide concrete examples of how to improve at work. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03573674. Registered 29 June 2018.

中文翻译：

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认知工效学工作场所干预（CogErg）对认知紧张和幸福感的影响：一项集群随机对照试验。研究方案。

背景技术诸如中断，中断和信息过载之类的认知上紧张的状况与任务性能受损和工作幸福感降低有关。因此，至关重要的是我们减少它们对个别员工和组织的有害影响。我们的干预研究实施了用于管理办公室工作任务和办公室工作条件中常见的认知压力的实践。我们将研究认知人体工程学干预措施对工作条件，工作流程，幸福感和生产率的影响。方法/设计本研究为分层整群随机试验。群集是工作单位，例如团队或办公室。四个参与组织总共进入了36个集群，我们邀请了这些部门的所有1169名知识型员工参加。我们将这些簇随机分配到一个干预组（认知工效学）或一个活动对照组（恢复支持）。我们邀请了另外471名参与者加入被动对照组，仅用于基线和随访测量，无需干预。该研究包括基线调查以及在工作场所的访谈和观察，然后进行干预。它从定义干预实施阶段具体行动的研讨会开始，在此期间，我们向所有员工发送任务提醒调查表，以支持个人和团队级别的行为改变。主要结局指标是工作条件下认知疲劳的感知频率；次要结果指标包括主观认知负荷，幸福感，工作流程/生产力和认知压力症状。流程评估使用在实施和评估阶段获得的定量和定性数据。基线测量，干预阶段和治疗结束后的测量现已完成，随访将持续到2019年11月。员工在认知要求苛刻的工作中的幸福感。我们的研究将提供有关导致这种压力的因素的新信息。最重要的是，结果将显示哪些基于证据的认知人体工程学实践支持知识工作中的工作绩效，并且该项目将提供有关如何在工作中进行改进的具体示例。试验注册ClinicalTrials.gov，NCT03573674。2018年6月29日注册。