EN ISO 10075-1:2017 PDF

Overview

EN ISO 10075-1:2017 - Ergonomic principles related to mental workload (Part 1) provides standardized terms and definitions for the mental workload domain. Prepared by ISO/TC 159 and adopted by CEN, this part defines core concepts such as mental stress, mental strain, and the short- and long‑term, positive and negative consequences of mental strain. The document treats mental workload as an umbrella term (not a prescriptive technical metric) and clarifies relationships between causes (stress) and effects (strain) to support consistent terminology across ergonomics practice.

Key topics

• Definitions and scope
  • Clear definitions for mental stress (total of assessable external influences) and mental strain (immediate effect within the individual).
  • Mental workload used as a domain descriptor rather than a single technical term.
• Consequences of mental strain
  • Short-term facilitating effects: warming-up effect, activation, learning.
  • Long-term facilitating effects: practice effect, competence development.
  • Short-term impairing effects: mental fatigue, fatigue-like states, plus distinctions by temporal pattern and recovery.
• Conceptual relationships
  • Specification of how stress, strain and their effects relate conceptually.
  • Emphasis on individual conditions that modulate strain (age, skills, fatigue, mood, coping strategies).
• Informative material
  • Annex A provides additional explanations of terms and concepts.
• Limitations
  • Does not include measurement methods or task design principles - these are covered in ISO 10075‑2 and ISO 10075‑3.
  • Links conceptually with ISO 6385 (general ergonomics principles).

Applications

• Use the standard to establish a common vocabulary in:
  • Workplace risk assessments and psychosocial hazard identification.
  • Design and evaluation of work systems where cognitive or mental demands are significant (control rooms, healthcare, transport, knowledge work).
  • Occupational health guidance, training materials, and policy documents.
• Supports consistent reporting, regulatory compliance, research comparisons and interdisciplinary communication among ergonomists, safety professionals and HR teams.

Who will use this standard

• Ergonomists and human factors specialists
• Occupational health and safety managers
• Industrial/UX designers and systems engineers
• HR professionals, trainers, and organizational psychologists
• Researchers and standards developers

Related standards

• ISO 10075‑2: (measurement methods) - covers assessment methods for mental workload
• ISO 10075‑3: (task design) - covers principles of task and workplace design
• ISO 6385: general ergonomics principles

Keywords: mental workload, mental stress, mental strain, ergonomic principles, ISO 10075-1:2017, CEN, workplace design, ergonomics terminology.