Evaluating mental workload among academic personnels using the CarMen-Q Scale in Tokat, Ankara, and Sivas

Mental workload is characterized as the difference between the cognitive processing capacity required to meet performance expectations and the capacity achievable within a specified time frame. Evaluating mental workload is essential for understanding the cognitive demands placed on today's workforce. This study aims to gauge the mental workload of academic faculty members in universities located in Tokat, Ankara, and Sivas, while also exploring potential variations based on academic titles. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 27, and content analysis was conducted. The structured interview questions used in this study were adapted from Rubio et al.'s (2017) CarMen-Q Mental Workload Scale, encompassing four subdimensions and 29 items covering cognitive workload, temporal workload, performance-related workload, and emotional workload. The study demonstrated strong internal consistency with a coefficient of α=0.94. Therefore cognitive workload emerged as the highest sub-dimension of mental workload (mean = 3.98), while temporary workload was the lowest (mean = 3.14). Assistant professors exhibited the highest overall mental workload score (mean = 3.85), suggesting that rank-specific job expectations significantly influence perceived cognitive demands. Additionally, the study stands out as one of the first to employ the CarMen-Q method for mental workload assessment, an approach not extensively explored in the existing literature.