Assessing Information Ergonomics in Work by Logging and Heart Rate Variability

Maintaining performance in ubiquitous work environment is increasingly dependent on the quality of physical, cognitive and organizational ergonomics of work. Since digital work environment is the reign of most knowledge workers, there is a need to elaborate the study of work ergonomics by devoting attention to the particular issues of information ergonomics in the field of HCI, too. The paper introduces the concept of information ergonomics (IE) and operationalizes it by specifying measures used in a field study on knowledge work. The empirical data were gathered from 35 participants. The material consists of application log data of PC use and heart variability rate data. Based on the empirical findings, the study also reflects theoretical propositions for the development of IE research. The study contributes to the methodological development of IE research by elaborating tools and by operationalizing and validating measurement of IE. The findings have also practical implications.