THE IMPACT OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ON MENTAL WORKLOAD
EVIDENCE FROM FEDERAL HIGHER EDUCATION PUBLIC SERVANTS
Keywords:
Saúde emocional, Carga mental de trabalho, Saúde do trabalhador, Bem-estar, TrabalhadorAbstract
This study investigated the relationship between emotional health and mental workload among public servants at a federal higher education institution, aiming to propose effective strategies to balance these phenomena. Emotional health involves psychological well-being and emotional regulation, while mental workload refers to the cognitive effort required in response to work demands. A descriptive-correlational and quantitative study was conducted with 450 public servants. The Emotional Health at Work Inventory and the Subjective Mental Workload Scale were applied. The relationships among constructs were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results indicated that positive emotions were not associated with work pace or organization but were positively related to cognitive demand, complexity, and job characteristics, and negatively related to health consequences. Negative emotions, in turn, were positively associated with cognitive demand, work pace, and health consequences, indicating higher overload risk. It is concluded that promoting positive emotions is related to workload balance and higher work engagement, while negative emotions tend to impair both emotional and physical health.
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