Working conditions and technostress in the workplace

Kaltenegger, Helena (2024): Working conditions and technostress in the workplace: physiological and psychological correlates. Dissertation, LMU München: Medizinische Fakultät

Abstract

Working conditions in the digital era bear risks for stress experience and adverse health outcomes. Despite growing scientific interest in technostress, that is stress due to the use of digital technologies, the current evidence base is limited by a lack of studies on physiological effects and prospective designs. Low-grade inflammation and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis are two biological mechanisms through which chronic stress, such as work stress, “gets under the skin” and can lead to disease. This cumulative dissertation comprising five publications investigated associations of working conditions including technostress with physiological and psychological outcomes in employees, particularly healthcare professionals. A systematic review with meta-analysis and two original studies in real-world occupational settings were conducted. As predictors, self-reported general work stressors (e.g., job demands, control) as well as technostressors (e.g., interruptions, multitasking, information overload) and as outcomes, biomarkers (i.e., inflammatory markers, hair cortisol) as well as psychological sequelae (i.e., burnout symptoms) were assessed. Results were mixed for associations between general working conditions and low-grade inflammation and statistically non-significant for associations between technostressors and low-grade inflammation (Papers II–V). However, technostress was prospectively negatively associated with hair cortisol concentration (Paper V). Furthermore, technostress was significantly associated with burnout symptoms in cross-sectional (Paper IV) but not in prospective analyses (Paper V). Overall, the findings provide novel insights into the physiological and psychological correlates of work stress and first evidence for differential effects of technostress. More prospective studies are needed to validate the results, further elucidate how digitalized working conditions affect employees’ health, and develop targeted measures for occupational health and safety.

• Dokumententyp: Dissertationen (Dissertation, LMU München)
• Themengebiete: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften ; 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
• Fakultäten: Medizinische Fakultät
• Sprache der Hochschulschrift: Englisch
• Datum der mündlichen Prüfung: 21. Oktober 2024
• 1. Bericht­erstatter:in: Weigl, Matthias