Mental workload profile and its relationship with presenteeism, absenteeism and job performance among surgeons: The mediating role of occupational fatigue

INTRODUCTION: Surgeons are one of the most significant jobs in the health care system that plays an important role in the patients' health promotion and their treatment. In the current study, the effect of mental workload on the work performance of surgeons was tested by considering the mediating effect of fatigue on this relationship. METHOD: This study was done analytically on 165 surgeons working in the operating rooms of hospitals in Iran. To determine of mental workload, the SURG-TLX method was used. The job performance was measured using the short version of the job performance questionnaire provided by the World Health Organization (WHO-HPQ), and accordingly relative presenteeism, relative absenteeism and job performance variables were calculated. The Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory (SOFI) questionnaire was used to determine occupational fatigue. A conceptual model was built to determine the direct and indirect relationship between mental workload and job performance, and the mediating effect of occupational fatigue on the relationship between mental workload and job performance was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). RESULTS: Out of 165 distributed questionnaires, 140 questionnaires were completed and delivered to the researchers (85% response rate). The mean ± standard deviations of mental workload, fatigue, and work performance were 16.57 ± 5.83, 6.32 ± 2.86, and 0.65 ± 0.28, respectively. The results of model fit indexes revealed that all indexes are within the acceptable range. Regarding this model, the direct effect of mental workload on job performance was not significant (β = −0.21; p = 0.072). A significant positive relationship was observed between mental workload and fatigue (β = 0.36; p < 0.001). The direct effect of fatigue on job performance was also the opposite and statistically significant (β = −0.39; p < 0.001). Finally, results indicated that the effect of mental workload on work performance mediated by occupational fatigue. CONCLUSION: Surgeons suffer a high level of mental workload during their work, and this factor can have a negative effect on surgeons' job performance. The effect of mental workload on job performance in surgeons can be detected, directly and indirectly, through the mediating effect of occupational fatigue. Improving the mental and physical conditions of the work environment can reduce occupational fatigue and improve surgeons’ job performance.