Being digitally hyperconnected causes 'techno-strain' for employees

Researchers from the University of Nottingham's Schools of Psychology and Medicine conducted detailed interviews with employees from a range of professions and found that the cognitive and affective effort associated with constant connectivity and high work pace driven by the digital workplace is detrimental to employee wellbeing. The results have been published today in Frontiers in Organizational Psychology.

This new paper is the final part of a research project exploring the 'dark side effects' of digital working which include stress, overload, anxiety and fear of missing out. The results highlight an overarching theme of 'digital workplace technology intensity' as a result of digital workplace job demands.

The findings in this latest paper indicate a sense of burden associated with working digitally which surfaced for most participants in perceptions of overload and feelings of being overwhelmed by the proliferation of messages, applications and meetings in the digital workplace. Fear of missing out on important information and contact with colleagues also contributed to stress and strain for digital workers, as did hassles encountered when using digital technologies.

Elizabeth Marsh, ESRC PhD student from the School of Psychology led the qualitative study and said: "Digital workplaces benefit both organisations and employees, for example by enabling collaborative and flexible work. However, what we have found in our research is that there is a potential dark side to digital working, where employees can feel fatigue and strain due to being overburdened by the demands and intensity of the digital work environment. A sense of pressure to be constantly connected and keeping up with messages can make it hard to

psychologically detach from work."

Fourteen employees were interviewed in detail and asked about their perceptions and experiences of digital workplace job demands and impacts to their health. In the analysis, the researchers explore potential underlying psychological, technological and organisational factors that may influence ways in which employees experience the digital workplace job demands.

Participants' dark side experiences were particularly shaped by a pervasive and constant state of connectivity in the digital workplace, termed "hyperconnectivity." These experiences contributed to a sense of pressure to be available and the erosion of work-life boundaries. The evidence also indicates that this hyperconnectivity has become the norm among workers post-pandemic.

Comments from interviewees included:

"[It's] just more difficult to leave it behind when it's all online and you can kind of jump on and do work at any time of the day or night."

"You kind of feel like you have to be there all the time. You have to be a little green light."

"It's that pressure to respond [...] I've received an e-mail, I've gotta do this quickly because if not, someone might think "What is she doing from home?"

Elizabeth adds: "The findings underline the need for both researchers and professionals to identify, understand and mitigate the digital workplace job demands to protect the well-being of digital workers."

The research makes practical suggestions for employers which include helping workers improve their digital skills and empowering them to manage boundaries in the digital workplace. The findings could also be used by technology departments to consider how to improve usability and accessibility of the digital workplace, as well as reining in the proliferation of applications. Understanding employees' needs and preferences for digital working is important to inform such work.

Dr Alexa Spence, Professor of Psychology adds: "This research extends the Job Demands-Resources literature by clarifying digital workplace job demands including hyperconnectivity and overload. It also contributes a novel construct of digital workplace technology intensity which adds new insight on the causes of technostress in the digital workplace. In doing so, it highlights the potential health impacts, both mental and physical, of digital work."

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