Cognitive demands are the invisible part of work.

Cognitive demands are the invisible part of work.

We see the lifting.
We see the carrying.
We see the pushing and pulling.

Those are easy to point to. Easy to classify.
Light.
Medium.
Heavy.

We’ve built entire systems around scoring physical demand.
But what are the invisible parts of work?

How do you rank:
Let's say — self-management?

This is all about the internal skills you need to bring to the table to get your work done.
Especially when you’re working alone.
Especially when you’re feeling pressure.

More specifically let's look at self-supervision.
This isn’t just about being “trustworthy.”
It’s a specific, measurable demand.

How much do you rely on your own judgment
versus having a supervisor tell you what to do next?

Here’s how it’s actually rated in a structured Job Demands Analysis:
Level 1 → Totally supervised. Someone is always there to guide you.
Level 2 → Occasional self-direction, but frequent guidance is available.
Level 3 → Frequent self-supervision required; direction is only occasional.
Level 4 → Predominantly self-supervised throughout the shift; you are expected to problem-solve independently.

That’s a measurable cognitive demand.

Now layer that with:
• Deadline pressure (from self-paced → rigid time constraints all shift)
• Exposure to confrontation (from none → daily hostile interactions)
• Responsibility and accountability (from minor inconvenience → grave consequences if judgment lapses)

A job can be “Light Duty” physically.

But cognitively?

It may be require at Level 4 self-supervision.
Level 4 deadline pressure.
Level 4 confrontation exposure.

That is not light.

That is maximal cognitive demand.

Now add:
Pain.
Sleep disruption.
Medication effects.
Fear of re-injury.

When someone struggles after returning to work, we often blame motivation.

Instead of asking:
What level is the cognitive demand of this job.
Which leads to the question, is the worker actually capable of performing at that level?

Work is not just movement.
It’s attention.
It’s judgment.
It’s memory.
It’s emotional control.

If we only see the physical demands, we are only seeing half the job.

And half the picture leads to full-sized mistakes.