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Cognitive Speed, Attention & working Memory in Female Bpo Employees Exposed to Regular Shifts
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Background: Information Technology industry is the most rapidly expanding sector in India in the last two decades. BPO sector is a major part of IT industry with around 4.5 million employees of which 35 % are women. These women employees are subjected to high work stress, odd working hours and frequent shift changes apart from environmental&domestic stressors leading to increased physical and mental health problems.
Aim: to study the cognitive functions - mental speed, attention&working memory in female BPO employees exposed to regular shifts.
Method: 50 female BPO employees exposed to regular shifts were assessed for speed and attention functions. They were compared with 50 female non BPO employees not working in shifts.
Results: BPO employees performed poorly compared to their controls in tests for mental speed. No changes were seen between groups in test for attention&working memory
Conclusion: cognitive functions are partly impaired in female BPO employees exposed to regular shift changes.
Keywords
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