Human Factors/Engineering Psych

Question 1

Compressed work week

Answer 1

Increase # of work hrs per day and decrease # work days

Positives = supervisor ratings of employee performance, employee overall job satisfaction, employee satisfaction w work sched

No strong impact on objective measures of job performance or absenteeism

Question 2

Flextime

Answer 2

Employees determine own sched as long as they work total # hrs and present during certain core hrs

Increased job satisf, satisfaction with sched, productivity, and decreased absenteeism

Question 3

Shift work - labor force

Answer 3

Less productive on night shift (more errors and accidents)

Rotating shift - lower productivity, higher accidents, and physical/mental health probs

Question 4

Factors associated with job stress

Answer 4

Type A personality
Police, fire fighters, computer programmers, dental assistant, electrician, plumber, social worker, telephone operator, hairdresser, psychologists

Question 5

Factors associated with burnout

Answer 5

Higher burnout among women, single and divorced, people who have little opportunity for promotion, professionals who deal frequently with people

Question 6

Effects of noise in work environment

Answer 6

Long-term exposure has adverse effects on productivity

Intermittent noise more distracting than constant

Question 7

Effects of music in work environment

Answer 7

Slight positive effect on productivity if work is repetitive, simple, and mundane

Complex tasks = no consistent positive effects