Is Your Workplace Making You Stupid?
Not everybody loves their job. But if you’re bored at work it might not just be making you unhappy, but having a long-term effect on your brain.
A new study from researchers at Florida State University suggests that a lack of stimulation in the workplace could a ‘long-term cognitive effect’ on employees.
And the same can be said for working in a dirty environment, the study found.
Dr Joseph Gryzwacz, lead researcher on the study, said researchers have been divided in the past as to whether working in a dirty workplace or being stuck in an unstimulating environment takes the biggest toll on people’s brain health as they get older.
But the new study suggests both can play a key role in employees’ ‘cognitive wellbeing’.
Dr Gryzwacz and his team collected data from nearly 5,000 adults aged 32 to 84, looking at their workplaces and their ability to keep and use information they had learned. They also looked at their ability to complete tasks, manage time and pay attention, as well as any memory issues.
The results showed that the more complex someone’s job is when it comes to learning new skills and taking on new challenges, the stronger their cognitive performance, especially for women, as they aged.
Secondly, men and women who had jobs that exposed them to a dirty working environment saw a cognitive decline.
(Pictures: Getty)
“Psychologists say that the brain is a muscle, while industrial hygienists point to chemicals in the work environment that may cause decline,” said Dr Gryzwacz.
“There are real things in the workplace that can shape cognitive function: some that you can see or touch, and others you can’t. We showed that both matter to cognitive health in adulthood.
“The practical issue here is cognitive decline associated with aging and the thought of, ‘if you don’t use it, you lose it.
“Designing jobs to ensure that all workers have some decision making ability may protect cognitive function later in life, but it’s also about cleaning up the workplace.”
The study’s finding are published in the June issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
