Understanding the Impact of Technostress on University Teachers’ Online Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic with the Transactional Theory of Stress (TTS)

Abstract

Colleges and universities worldwide have adopted online teaching for short or long periods in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This study examines the appraisal results of specific techno-stressors related to online instruction and how these appraisal results impact teachers’ continuance intention towards online instruction. The investigation is important because it enables university administrators to manage different techno-stressors distinctively and adopt appropriate coping strategies to support online teaching. A research model is developed based on the transactional theory of stress (TTS) and tested empirically with a sample of 201 university teachers in China. The results reveal that (a) work overload is positively associated with university teachers’ challenge appraisal but negatively associated with their threat appraisal ; (b) invasion of privacy is not significantly associated with challenge or threat appraisal ; (c) work–home conflict is positively associated with threat appraisal but negatively associated with challenge appraisal ; and (d) challenge appraisal is positively associated with continuance intention , while threat appraisal is negatively associated with continuance intention . Implications for online learning during pandemics are discussed.

Technostress, Quality of Work Life, and Job Performance: A Moderated Mediation Model

“…The differing impacts of different techno-stressors may stem from individuals perceiving them differently in specific situations. Recent studies have also shown that users may assess certain techno-stressors as challenges while viewing others as threats, leading to distinct effects [21][22][23]. For example, Zhao et al [22] discovered that individuals tend to regard techno-overload and techno-uncertainty as challenges while considering techno-complexity and techno-insecurity as threats.…”

“…Numerous prior studies have used the transactional model of stress and coping to investigate the effects of techno-stressors [21,23,24]. For instance, Lei and Ngai [24] were pioneers in adapting transactional stress and coping models to the context of technostress and investigated the conflicting findings concerning the impact of technostress.…”

“…Wang and Yao [21] examined how K-12 teachers evaluate techno-stressors. Similarly, while using the transactional stress and coping model, Wang, Zhao, and Yao [23] investigated tech-no-stressors related to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period when teachers faced an increased risk of experiencing technostress.…”