Terhelhetségi

Terhelhetségi is a Finnish term used in occupational health and ergonomics to describe the capacity of an individual, system, or organization to bear workload or burden without experiencing excessive strain. The root terhe means burden, and the suffix -ksi marks a property or quality. The term is used to discuss how much work, responsibility, or risk a given actor can take on while maintaining safety, health, and performance.

Applications include workplace planning to determine staffing levels, shift design, and task distribution; in healthcare, to evaluate patient-to-caregiver load; in logistics and engineering, to assess load-bearing capacity of processes or structures. The concept is often operationalized through indicators such as workload intensity, time pressure, fatigue, error rates, and sickness absence, combined with qualitative assessments of perceived capacity and resilience.

Measurement and interpretation are not standardized, and different disciplines may define terhelhetségi slightly differently. Consequently, researchers emphasize clear operational definitions and context-specific thresholds.

Critics note that the term is not widely codified, and overuse can obscure structural issues such as insufficient staffing or design flaws. When used, it should be complemented by concrete metrics and policy considerations to avoid shifting responsibility onto individuals alone.

See also: workload, capacity, ergonomic assessment, risk assessment, burnout.