Consequences of technostress for users in remote (home) work contexts during a time of crisis: The buffering role of emotional social support

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered a substantial increase in the adoption of remote work. However, this shift towards remote work can potentially cause technostress (TS) due to the constant use of information and communication technology (ICT). Research suggests that receiving emotional social support (ESS) from one's social network can mitigate the negative effects of technostress. However, previous studies in the information systems (IS) field have yielded inconclusive results regarding the role of ESS in moderating the relationship between TS, strain, and work satisfaction. Drawing on the transactional theory of stress, our model conceptualizes the effect of TS on work satisfaction as being fully mediated by strain, and the effects of TS on strain and work satisfaction as being moderated by ESS. To test our model, we collected data from 306 ICT users who remotely worked from home during the lockdown period. After accounting for marital and parental statuses, our results reveal that: (a) TS increased the strain experienced by ICT users, subsequently resulting in decreased work satisfaction. (b) ESS mitigated the direct effect of TS on strain and the indirect effect of TS on work satisfaction. These findings highlight the potential benefits of ESS in remote work contexts.