Analysis of Workday Stresses on Industrial Managers using Heart Rate as a Criterion

The purpose of the research presented in this paper was to evaluate the impact of job activity on heart rate. Electrocardiograms of 24 male engineering managers were obtained during a normal workday to determine the effect of their industrial work conditions on heart rate (HR). Electrocardiogram records were collected on each subject during two, 6-10 hr periods, giving 48 possible data-days of which 45 were used in this study. Subjects were analysed according to ago, typo of company (hydrocarbon processing, machining, or engineering), and organizational situation (line or staff). Activities of the day, having been recorded in personal diaries, were compared to HR records obtained during the same period. The period of highest daily HR occurred 70% of the time during non-physical work activities specifically identified by the subjects. The results indicate that situations identifiable by subjects as potentially stressful can cause high HR, and conversely high HR can load to the identification of industrial situations stressful to the employee.