Technostress

Digital resources have changed our way of working in many ways and lead to new challenges as well as new possibilities. The past years, the working force all over the world has got new tools and learned new ways of work. This development is great, in many ways, but can also be a challenge.

Technostress

The technical development has led to this new expression, technostress. Technostress is the stress that users of everyday information technologies experience when they feel threatened and overwhelmed by the demands of such technologies. An example is e-mail. The emails can overload a worker’s time and mental resources, and also invade the non-work time. The work one was supposed to do, will not be done, as the e-mails must be answered first. And if e-mails come, they often need immediate response, whether it is working time or not. The e-mail has changed the life and routines for many people. Also, the e-mail is not longer only on the computer at work, many workers use mobile phones with access to the e-mails 24/7. This is a major challenge.

Five technostress creators have been identified:

• Techno-overload: When the worker are overwhelmed by technology, like the example above with many e-mails and losing control over when to read and respond to them.

• Techno-invasion: When workers feel their non-work time being invaded by work demands.
• Techno-complexity: When the workers are stressed as they must understand and use tools that are too difficult for them.
• Techno-insecurity: When the workers feel that they will be replaced soon, if they do not manage to cope with new technology.
• Techno-uncertainty: When the workers feel that they constantly must change, learn new things, they are never in balance. Work condition vary and change all the time.

This man is working while sitting out in the park. This is a great opportunity for many workers today. It might be a part of health promotion! ^©Colourbox

Advice on digital work, to avoid technostress

• Individual actions: Ask for training, tell when the challenges are too big, having a good communication about the new technology that appear at work.
• Organisational actions: Introducing good technical support for the workers, encouraging the workers and provide good equipment.
• Companies/technological development: Companies should develop systems in cooperation with people who later will use them.