Logo PTI Logo FedCSIS

Proceedings of the 18th Conference on Computer Science and Intelligence Systems

Annals of Computer Science and Information Systems, Volume 35

Employee Technostress in South Africa’s Hybrid Workplaces: Causes and Coping Mechanisms

, ,

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15439/2023F2907

Citation: Proceedings of the 18th Conference on Computer Science and Intelligence Systems, M. Ganzha, L. Maciaszek, M. Paprzycki, D. Ślęzak (eds). ACSIS, Vol. 35, pages 943947 ()

Full text

Abstract. During the COVID-19 pandemic, South African organisations were forced to provide suitable working conditions for its employees. The increased reliance on technology while working from home resulted in technostress. This paper considers how technostress experiences have evolved under the newly adopted hybrid working model. It investigates the underlying causes of technostress experiences and how employees are currently coping with technostress under the hybrid model. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and supplemented with secondary data provided by respondents who are currently working under a hybrid model and who use ICTs for work purposes. The findings reveal several hybrid working specific causes of technostress, including instances of stressful workstation setups, office disruptions and power outage issues as a result of loadshedding (rolling power blackouts). Stresses related to loadshedding appear to be a specific South African issue. To deal with technostress, employees adopted reactive and proactive coping behaviours driven by problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies respectively.

References

  1. C. Sellberg and T. Susi, "technostress in the office: a distributed cognition perspective on human–technology interaction," Cognition, Technology & Work, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 187-201, 2014/05/01 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10111-013-0256-9.
  2. M. Tarafdar, C. L. Cooper, and J.-F. Stich, "The technostress trifecta - techno eustress, techno distress and design: Theoretical directions and an agenda for research," Information Systems Journal, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 6-42, 2019, http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12169.
  3. M. H. R. Bussin and C. Swart-Opperman, "COVID-19: Considering impacts to employees and the workplace," 2021, COVID-19; employee impact; workplace impact; pandemic; performance vol. 19, 2021-08-20 2021, http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v19i0.1384.
  4. K. Khuzaini and Z. Zamrudi, "technostress among marketing employee during the COVID-19 pandemic: Exploring the role of technology usability and presenteeism," JEMA: Jurnal Ilmiah Bidang Akuntansi dan Manajemen, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 36-60, 2021, http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.31106/jema.v18i1.10050.
  5. L. Camarena and F. Fusi, "Always Connected: Technology Use Increases technostress Among Public Managers," The American Review of Public Administration, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 154-168, 2022/02/01 2021, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/02750740211050387.
  6. I. Savolainen, R. Oksa, N. Savela, M. Celuch, and A. Oksanen, "COVID-19 Anxiety—A Longitudinal Survey Study of Psychological and Situational Risks among Finnish Workers," International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 18, no. 2, p. 794, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/2/794.
  7. Y. Wang et al., "Returning to the Office During the COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery: Early Indicators from China," presented at the Extended Abstracts of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Yokohama, Japan, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411763.3451685.
  8. A. S. Nisafani, G. Kiely, and C. Mahony, "Workers’ technostress: a review of its causes, strains, inhibitors, and impacts," Journal of Decision Systems, vol. 29, no. sup1, pp. 243-258, 2020/08/18 2020, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/12460125.2020.1796286.
  9. P. Spagnoli, M. Molino, D. Molinaro, M. L. Giancaspro, A. Manuti, and C. Ghislieri, "Workaholism and technostress During the COVID-19 Emergency: The Crucial Role of the Leaders on Remote Working," (in English), Frontiers in Psychology, Brief Research Report vol. 11, 2020-December-23 2020, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.620310.
  10. I. Hwang and O. Cha, "Examining technostress creators and role stress as potential threats to employees' information security compliance," Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 81, pp. 282-293, 2018/04/01/ 2018, http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.12.022.
  11. L. Atanasoff and M. A. Venable, "technostress: Implications for Adults in the Workforce," The Career Development Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 4, pp. 326-338, 2017, http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12111.
  12. X. Zhao, Q. Xia, and W. Huang, "Impact of technostress on productivity from the theoretical perspective of appraisal and coping processes," Information & Management, vol. 57, no. 8, p. 103265, 2020/12/01/ 2020, http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2020.103265.
  13. R. Berger, M. Romeo, G. Gidion, and L. Poyato, "Media use and technostress," in INTED2016 Proceedings, 2016: IATED, pp. 390-400, http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2016.1092.
  14. M. Tarafdar, H. Pirkkalainen, M. Salo, and M. Makkonen, "Taking on the “dark side”––Coping with technostress," IT professional, vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 82-89, 2020, http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/MITP.2020.2977343.
  15. A. Bhattacherjee, Social science research: Principles, methods, and practices. 2012.
  16. T. Azungah, "Qualitative research: deductive and inductive approaches to data analysis," Qualitative Research Journal, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 383-400, 2018, http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/QRJ-D-18-00035.