Effect of psychological stress at the workplace on "Neuroenhancement" - empirical studies on employees

Project number: F 2283
Institution: Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) / INFAS Institut für angewandte Sozialwissenschaft GmbH
Status: Completed Project

Description:

Neuroenhancement (NE) can be described as measures for improving cognitive capacity and mental state of healthy subjects. This issue became in the focus of the modern work- and health protection as a result of the DAK-report "Doping at the workplace - performance enhancement by psychotropic drugs".

Experts assume that work-related factors are the most important reasons for the neuroenhancement-intake. Until now, almost no empirical studies are available which investigate the relation between psychological demands at the workplace and neuroenhancement.

Within field studies, we will investigate in this project which conditions at the workplace will lead to immediate intake of neuroenhancement-drugs, which individual factors promote the neuroenhancement-intake and furthermore the relation between neuroenhancement-intake and mental health of the employees. We will also investigate whether neuroenhancement-intake is differently in different occupational groups.

The results may be provide a well-established basis in the debates on "Neuroenhancement at the workplace" and for measures of neuroenhancement prevention.