Attention is a cognitive function necessary at work. Attention needs to be continuously controlled by the employee to reach concentration. The number of disruptive sound sources should be lowered to maintain concentration. Whenever work characteristics does not allow additional mental load might be necessary to execute a task. Thus, it is valuable to understand the neuronal dynamics underlying the processing of irrelevant sounds during cognitive tasks.

In our experiment, we will present cognitive tasks (nback and Stroop) with and without synthetical produced occupational noise. The digitally produced noise represents a realistic soundscape. Synthetic auditory soundscapes are designed based on mobile work scenario. We register the electroencephalogram (EEG) as well as the perceived workload using the NASA-TLX and Weinstein’s Noise Sensitivity Scale. We primarily address the question, of whether neuronal correlates are sensitive to fine-grained modulations of workload during audio-visual work tasks. Thus, we aim to determine whether it is possible to identify EEG parameters related to mental workload induced by cognitive tasks and the acoustic environment. Knowledge of biomarkers contributes to the ergonomic design of future workplaces.