Which category includes personal ability, alertness, age, and fatigue?

• A. The worker
• B. Management
• C. Social or psychological environment
• D. Physical environment

Answer: (C)

These factors are about the worker’s own state and how it affects performance. Personal ability, alertness, age, and fatigue shape attention, decision-making, and reaction times, and they are influenced by the social and organizational context—like workload, stress, safety culture, and support from others. That connection to how people interact with the work environment and with each other places them in the social or psychological environment rather than the physical setting. They’re distinct from physical factors such as lighting, noise, or temperature, which belong to the physical environment. So, these personal aspects are categorized with the social/psychological environment because they reflect the worker’s state within the social context of the job and impact safety and performance.