Cognitive failure at work: factorial structure of a new questionnaire

Motivation -- To estimate cognitive failure and preceding conditions at work with a new questionnaire, and to describe its factorial structure and subscales. Research approach -- An explorative survey approach was used with a questionnaire consisting of three parts: Workplace Cognitive Failure Scale (WCFS), a new scale on cognitive failures, and a questionnaire on work conditions. Findings/Design -- The results replicate the factorial structure of the original WCFS, with its memory, attention, and action subscales. With additional items of cognitive failure we found four subscales detailing perception of relevant information, forgetting work tasks, multitasking, and acting in the environment. Seven subscales were found for work-related factors that are likely to impair cognitive functioning. Research limitations/Implications -- Only employees of one company and one occupation participated in the preliminary study, which limits generalisation of the findings. Originality/Value -- The research makes a contribution to defining and detailing cognitive failure at work and identifying work-related conditions that may induce human error and accidents in occupations that are not safety-critical, but nevertheless prone to accidents. Take away message -- Improving safety at conventional workplaces requires means to recognise central latent causes of human error. We developed a cost-effective method to identify types of cognitive failure and work conditions that may induce error at work.