*4.3. Cognitive Demands and Well-Being*

In the next step, we assessed whether cognitive demands were related to indicators of well-being (Table 3, Columns 1–3). Again, each column reports the estimates of separate regressions taking the different indicators of well-being as dependent variables. Overall the estimates revealed that cognitive demands played an important role for employee well-being—independent from their socio-demographic characteristics. With respect to fatigue, it turned out that all cognitive demands considered were associated with a higher probability of feeling fatigued. For instance, doing unlearned things sometimes or frequently was associated with a 10.6 percentage point higher probability of suffering from fatigue during work or on working days. Regarding overall health, the results varied across the different cognitive demands. While the probability of reporting to be in good health was not significantly related to facing new tasks at work, it was positively correlated with improving work. In contrast, doing unlearned things was associated with a reduced probability of reporting good health. Regarding job satisfaction, it turned out that on average, individuals facing new tasks and improving work frequently were more likely to be satisfied with their job. On the contrary, doing unlearned things was often associated with lower job satisfaction. The results indicate that cognitive demands might be related to both resource and demand.


**Table 3.** Cognitive Demands and Well-Being (OLS Regression).

<sup>A</sup> Corresponds to the subgroup of individuals who reported frequently facing the specific cognitive demand; Note: \* *p* < 0.05, \*\* *p* < 0.01, \*\*\* *p* < 0.001; Robust standard errors in parentheses; control variables included gender as well as dummies for age group, schooling, occupational status, and sector (see Table 2). Source: Own calculations based on the BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey 2018, unweighted results.

The relationship between cognitive demands and well-being might be (partly) driven by whether or not individuals perceive the respective cognitive demand as stressful. For that reason, we now focus on individuals facing cognitive demands frequently and compare those perceiving it as stressful to those who do not regard it as a stressor (Table 3, Columns 4–6). As expected, the estimates became much larger. Perceiving it stressful to face new tasks or to do unlearned things at work was significantly associated with adverse health, e.g., with a higher probability of feeling fatigued but also with a lower probability of being satisfied with the job.
