In this study, we have attempted to find out the usefulness of assessing mental workload of motivated employees. The functional state of brain and cognitive functions of motivated employees for varying levels of mental workloads were analyzed by measuring biosignals. Behavioral and electrophysiological studies of motivated employees were conducted. Our studies indicated that with mental work overload cognitive fatigue sets in. Cognitive fatigue affects the working memory which is critical for maintaining attention, processing of information and resolving conflict. The mental workload should be properly distributed throughout the day and kept at a manageable level to avoid both overload or underload situations.

Motivation of the employees is the key for the organizational success, for a motivated employee volunteers to do more than what is expected and would be more successful than others. However, good performance depends on mental workload of employees and their willingness to do the job. Motivation depends on different needs and levels of tasking.

Assessment of workload is essential to maintain the wellbeing of workers because with sustained overload individuals become more tired in spite of motivation, which results in memory lapses. Mental workload is the amount of subject’s processing capacity that is required for performance of a task at a given time (Gopher and Donchin, 1986). The modern work environment is often hectic due to multitasking. Irregular working and sleeping conditions restrict brain’s energy resources, especially in the frontal areas which are essential for multitasking. Performance declines both during multitasking when processing capacity demands are very high as well as during vigilance conditions which demand sustained attention. The decrease in brain energy resource leads to performance decreases with task complexity, and even a moderate decrease in cognitive resources of the brain may cause work-related stress, which in turn can increase the risk of error and work-related diseases.

Management Research Journal, Mental Workload, Cognitive Fatigue, Motivation of the employees, Assessment of workload, Event-Related Potential (ERP), Emission Tomography (PET), Electroencephalogram (EEG), Event-Related Potential (ERP) and Magnetoencephalogram (MEG).