Digital Fatigue as an Emerging Occupational Risk in Knowledge-Based Work

The accelerated transformations of the digital work environment have led to the emergence of emerging occupational risks, insufficiently addressed within traditional occupational safety and health methodologies. Among them, digital fatigue stands out as a complex phenomenon, driven by prolonged exposure to screens, high cognitive load, intensity of digital interactions, and multitasking specific to knowledge-based activities. This paper proposes an integrated approach to assessing this risk, by developing a quantitative model based on the Digital Fatigue Index (DFI), capable of capturing the dynamic and cumulative character of the phenomenon. The proposed model uses a mathematical formulation and a differential equation to describe the evolution of digital fatigue over time, including both accumulation and recovery processes. The conceptual validation of the model was achieved by simulating a typical scenario of working in a digital environment, highlighting the influence of factors such as frequent interactions and multitasking on the accelerated increase in fatigue. The results obtained underline the importance of introducing breaks and optimizing the organization of work to reduce the associated risks. Finally, the paper highlights the need to integrate digital fatigue into occupational risk assessment and provides a useful analytical tool to support occupational safety and health decisions in the context of the digital economy.