Technostress
Encyclopedia
Technostress is the negative psychological link between people and the introduction of new technologies. Whereas ergonomics
is the study of how humans react and physically fit with machines in their environment, technostress is, in many ways, the resistance of change that accompanies newly introduced machines to work, home, and leisure situations.
Craig Ahmed, a leader in the field of technostress research, states that technostress is "...a modern disease
of adaptation caused by an inability to cope with the new Computerworld
technologies in a unhealthy manner."1
can manifest itself physically. The main symptom
of technostress is anxiety. Anxiety can appear as: irritability, headache
s, mental fatigue, depression
, nightmare
s, panic
, resistance
, and a feeling of helplessness.
The anxiety
expressed by those experiencing technostress can increase errors in judgement and poor job performance if not dealt with.
The causes of technostress amount to:2
Ergonomics
Ergonomics is the study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body, its movements, and its cognitive abilities.The International Ergonomics Association defines ergonomics as follows:...
is the study of how humans react and physically fit with machines in their environment, technostress is, in many ways, the resistance of change that accompanies newly introduced machines to work, home, and leisure situations.
Craig Ahmed, a leader in the field of technostress research, states that technostress is "...a modern disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
of adaptation caused by an inability to cope with the new Computerworld
Computerworld
Computerworld is an IT magazine that provides information for senior IT leaders. It is published in many countries around the world under the same or similar names. Its publisher is International Data Group. Computerworld serves the needs of IT management via print and online...
technologies in a unhealthy manner."1
Symptoms
Psychological stressStress (medicine)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
can manifest itself physically. The main symptom
Symptom
A symptom is a departure from normal function or feeling which is noticed by a patient, indicating the presence of disease or abnormality...
of technostress is anxiety. Anxiety can appear as: irritability, headache
Headache
A headache or cephalalgia is pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It can be a symptom of a number of different conditions of the head and neck. The brain tissue itself is not sensitive to pain because it lacks pain receptors. Rather, the pain is caused by disturbance of the...
s, mental fatigue, depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
, nightmare
Nightmare
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror...
s, panic
Panic
Panic is a sudden sensation of fear which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic fight-or-flight reaction...
, resistance
Psychological resistance
Psychological resistance is the phenomenon often encountered in clinical practice in which patients either directly or indirectly oppose changing their behavior or refuse to discuss, remember, or think about presumably clinically relevant experiences....
, and a feeling of helplessness.
The anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
expressed by those experiencing technostress can increase errors in judgement and poor job performance if not dealt with.
The causes of technostress amount to:2
- the quick pace of technological change
- lack of proper training
- an increased workloadWorkload-An amount of labor:While a precise definition of a workload is elusive, a commonly accepted definition is the hypothetical relationship between a group or individual human operator and task demands....
- lack of standardizationStandardizationStandardization is the process of developing and implementing technical standards.The goals of standardization can be to help with independence of single suppliers , compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, or quality....
within technologies - the reliability of hardwareHardwareHardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
and software
Coping
Technostress can be dealt with. Ways to eliminate technostress are:- Get adequate, user friendlyUser FriendlyUser Friendly is a discontinued daily webcomic about the staff of a small, fictional Internet service provider, Columbia Internet. The strip's humor tends to be centered around technology jokes and geek humour....
software - Create better communicationCommunicationCommunication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
within the environment - Create a level of reassurance, patiencePatiencePatience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the...
, and stability within the environment - Maintain an ever-present system of training and educationEducationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
to new and old technologies - Avoid using technology