CIEE CIEE Psychosocial & Organizational Ergonomics 2

Question 1

What is 'effort-reward imbalance' (ERI) and how does it relate to occupational ergonomics?

Accepted Answer

A psychosocial stress model where high work effort combined with low rewards (pay, esteem, job security) increases health risk including MSDs

Answer

Siegrist's effort-reward imbalance model identifies that workers who exert high effort but receive insufficient rewards experience chronic stress that independently contributes to MSD development and reporting.

Question 2

In organizational ergonomics, what is 'job enrichment' and how does it differ from job enlargement?

Accepted Answer

Job enrichment adds higher-complexity tasks and decision-making authority (vertical expansion), while job enlargement adds similar-level tasks (horizontal expansion)

Answer

Job enrichment vertically expands a job by adding autonomy, skill variety, and responsibility, while job enlargement horizontally adds more tasks at the same level, both strategies reducing ergonomic risk in different ways.

Question 3

Which evidence-based approach helps organizations identify psychosocial ergonomic risks before conducting a physical workstation assessment?

Accepted Answer

Conducting employee symptom surveys and structured interviews about job demands, control, and support

Answer

Structured employee surveys and interviews using validated tools like the Job Content Questionnaire or Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire capture psychosocial and physical risk data that guide the prioritization of ergonomic assessments.

Question 4

How does 'time pressure' as a psychosocial stressor affect ergonomic risk in a manufacturing setting?

Accepted Answer

Time pressure forces workers to skip protective behaviors like adjusting workstation height or using mechanical assists, increasing physical risk

Answer

When workers feel intense time pressure—whether from production quotas, piece-rate pay, or supervisor pressure—they are more likely to skip workstation adjustments, use shortcuts, and sustain awkward postures to maintain pace.

Question 5

What role does 'worker participation' play in a successful ergonomics program according to OSHA guidelines and ergonomic research?

Accepted Answer

Worker participation is a core element because workers have direct knowledge of task demands, variation, and practical barriers to ergonomic solutions

Answer

OSHA ergonomic guidelines and research consistently identify meaningful worker participation as essential because workers possess first-hand knowledge of actual task variability, informal workarounds, and practical constraints that external assessors often miss.

(CIEE) Certified Industrial Ergonomic Evaluator Practice Test

(CIEE) Certified Industrial Ergonomic Evaluator Practice Test

CIEE CIEE Psychosocial & Organizational Ergonomics 2