"The way we type on our keyboard and move our mouse seems to be a better indicator of our stress levels than our heart rate in an office work environment," said mathematician and study author Mara Nagelin.

For this study, researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) observed 90 participants in a laboratory performing real-life office tasks, such as scheduling appointments or recording and analyzing data.

They recorded participants' mouse and keyboard behavior as well as their heart rate, and regularly asked participants how stressed they felt.

While some participants were allowed to work undisturbed, half of the group was repeatedly interrupted by chat messages and was also invited to participate in a job interview.

Researchers have established that stressed people type and move their mouse differently than relaxed people.

"Stressed people move the mouse more often and less accurately and cover longer distances on the screen," Nagelin said.

The researchers also found that people who feel stressed in the office make more mistakes when typing and tend to write in fits and starts, with many brief breaks.

Relaxed people, on the other hand, take fewer but longer breaks when writing on their computers, they found.

The link between stress and keyboard and mouse behavior can be explained by the so-called neuromotor noise theory.

"Increased stress levels have a negative impact on our brain's ability to process information. It also affects our motor skills," explained psychologist and co-author Jasmine Kerr.

The researchers felt that there was an urgent need to find reliable ways to detect increased stress, pointing out that one in three employees in Switzerland suffers from stress at work.

"Those affected often do not realize that their physical and mental resources are dwindling until it is too late," it said.

They are currently testing their model using an app, with data recorded from Swiss employees who have agreed to have mouse and keyboard use, as well as their heart rate, recorded while working.

Results are expected by the end of the year.

"We want to help workers identify stress early, not create a monitoring tool for companies," the study authors said.

© 2023 AFP