The effect of different work-rest schedules on fatigue and performance of a simulated directory assistance operator's task

The directory assistance operators' task with a visual display terminal was simulated to determine the preferable work-rest schedule from among the three different work-rest schedules: 30min of work followed by 5min break (30-5); 60min of work followed by l0min break (60-10); and 120min of work without any break (120-0). The total working duration was 2h. The errors made during the work and the subjective responses before and after the working period (2 h) were recorded and analysed. The results showed that the first two work-rest schedules were preferable to the third condition (120-0) as significantly fewer errors were made (p≥0.01) when a short break was provided. There was no significant difference (p≥0.10) in errors between (30-5) and (60-10) schemes. Fewer before and after subjective responses differed significantly for(30-5) and (60-10) schemes than for the (120-0) scheme. The overall effect of schemes on subjective responses, however, was not statistically significant at the 5% level. Since both (30-5) and (60-10) schemes were found acceptable, the (60-10) scheme is recommended since it is easy to implement, causes fewer breaks and therefore, fewer work interruptions, and leads to fewer total minutes of break.