Being digitally hyperconnected causes ‘techno-strain’ for employees

Researchers from the School of Psychology and Medicine at the University of Nottingham conducted detailed interviews with employees across a variety of occupations and found that the constant connectivity and high work pace that come with the digital workplace are detrimental to employee well-being. The findings are published today in Frontiers in Organizational Psychology.

The new paper is the final part of a research project exploring the “dark side effects” of working digitally, including stress, overload, anxiety and the fear of missing out. The results highlight the overall theme of “digital workplace technology intensity” brought about by digital workplace work demands.

Findings from this latest paper reveal a sense of burden associated with digital work, which for most participants manifested itself in feelings of overload and the proliferation of information, applications and meetings in the digital workplace. Feel. Worries about missing out on important messages and connections with colleagues also cause stress and stress for digital workers, as do the troubles experienced when using digital technology.

Elizabeth Marsh, an ESRC PhD student in the School of Psychology, who led the qualitative research, said: “A digital workplace has benefits for both organizations and employees, for example by enabling collaborative and flexible working. However, we found in our research that A potential dark side of the job is that employees may become fatigued and stressed by the demands and intensity of the digital work environment, where the pressure to constantly stay connected and keep up with information makes it difficult for them to do so.

Psychologically detach from work.

Fourteen employees were interviewed in detail and asked about their perceptions and experiences of work demands in the digital workplace and the impact on their health. In the analysis, the researchers explored potential psychological, technological, and organizational factors that may influence the way employees experience work demands in the digital workplace.

Participants’ experiences of the dark side were particularly affected by the pervasive and constant state of connectedness (called “hyperconnectivity”) in the digital workplace. These experiences exacerbate feelings of work-life boundary stress and the erosion of work-life boundaries. Evidence also suggests that such hyperconnectivity has become the norm for post-pandemic workers.

Comments from interviewees included:

“[It’s] When everything is online, it’s harder to put it behind you, and you can continue working at any time of the day or night.

“You feel like you have to be there all the time. You have to have a little green light.”

“That’s the pressure to respond. […] I got an email and I had to do this ASAP because if not someone might be thinking “What is she doing at home?”

Elizabeth added: “The findings highlight the need for researchers and professionals alike to identify, understand and mitigate work demands in the digital workplace to protect the wellbeing of digital workers.”

The research provides practical recommendations for employers, including helping employees improve their digital skills and empowering them to manage boundaries in the digital workplace. Technology departments can also use these findings to consider how to improve the usability and accessibility of the digital workplace and control the proliferation of applications. Understanding employee needs and preferences for digital work is important to informing such work.

Alexa Spence, Ph.D., professor of psychology, added: “This study extends the work demands-resources literature by illuminating work demands in the digital workplace, including hyperconnectivity and overload. It also proposes novel insights into the technological intensity of the digital workplace. construct, providing new insights into the causes of technological stress.

The research was funded by ESRC-MGS (Economic and Social Research Council – Midlands Graduate School).