How Are Techno-Stressors Associated with Mental Health and Work Outcomes? A Systematic Review of Occupational Exposure to Information and Communication Technologies within the Technostress Model

Abstract

The technostress model has introduced different factors to consider when assessing how information and communication technologies impact individuals in different work settings. This systematic review gathers evidence regarding associations between occupational exposure to technostress and health or work outcomes. In addition, we highlight typical methodological constraints of the technostress model. We conducted electronic literature searches in June 2020 (PubMed, PubMed Central, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycInfo, PsycArticles) and independently screened 321 articles. We report on 21 articles meeting eligibility criteria (working population, technostress exposure, health or work outcome, quantitative design). The most frequently examined techno-stressors, i.e., factors of technostress, were techno-overload and techno-invasion. Techno-stressors were consistently associated with adverse health and work outcomes, apart from a positive impact on work engagement. However, studies may be subject to considerable conceptual overlap between exposure and outcome measures. Future technostress research would benefit from reducing heterogeneity in technostress measures, assessing their external validity and focussing on specific techno-stressors.

Healthy and Happy Working from Home? Effects of Working from Home on Employee Health and Job Satisfaction

“…First, the data used here are from a single source and are self-reported. This can lead to monomethod bias and carries the risk of social desirability bias and conceptual overlap to the extent that self-reported measures express a similar underlying meaning as the outcome measures (see e.g., [49]).…”

The Predictive Factors of New Technology Adoption, Workers’ Well-Being and Absenteeism: The Case of a Public Maritime Company in Venice

“…In this respect, several studies have been conducted in the area of information systems to identify the above-mentioned factors, and many such studies are based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) developed by Davis [ 16 ]. A second theoretical framework that we adopted in this study concerns technology as a potential source of stress, by causing burnout, strain and discomfort [ 17 ]. In fact, technology could be considered a job demand, requiring extended psychological investment or skills.…”

The Dark Side and the Light Side of Technology-Related Stress and Stress Related to Workplace Innovations: From Artificial Intelligence to Business Transformations

“…The systematic review by Borle et al [19] analyzed the association between exposure to techno-stressors and work and health outcomes. The results show that the most frequently analyzed techno-stressors are techno-overload and techno-invasion.…”