The present field study investigated mental health aspects at intralogistics workplaces, as cognitive and social demands have largely changed in this branch. Within a cross-sectional, mixed methods study design, forty-one intralogistics employees completed a survey about their working conditions and mental states. Further, nine workers participated in a systematic, qualitative group interview to obtain intralogistics specific job resources and job demands. The results were compared to known mechanisms from a long-established psychological model (the Job-Demands and Resources model, JD-R model) to evaluate if these general assumptions still apply at modern working conditions. As expected and in line with the JD-R model, regression analyzes supported that job resources predicted work engagement (p < .05) and job demands predicted burnout symptoms (p < .001) even at modern intralogistics workplaces. However, no interaction effects (Job Demands X Job Resources) were found. The qualitative interviews highlighted several job demands and job resources, which were reported as especially relevant for modern intralogistics workplaces by the participants. Based on the findings, practical recommendations were evolved for the improvement of mental health at intralogistics workplaces. Job resources, for example process transparency or respectful and esteeming leadership behavior, can be increased in order to improve work engagement. Job demands, for example task interruptions, excessive time pressure or profuse exposure to physical stress should be controlled to reduce burnout symptoms.

The complete article is published in the "International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics" (2020).