Employees' Work-Related Well-Being during COVID-19 Pandemic: An Integrated Perspective of Technology Acceptance Model and JD-R Theory.

Marjan Shamsi,Richard P Bagozzi,Espen Olsen,Tatiana Iakovleva

doi:10.3390/ijerph182211888

Abstract

Employees’ work-related well-being has become one of the most significant interests of researchers and organizations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examines how job characteristics such as mental load and team support, and technology-related factors such as perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and technology acceptance, impact employees’ work engagement as a dimension of work well-being. Data were collected through a sample of 610 academic employees from three Norwegian universities after COVID-19 restrictions were implemented. The structural model estimation showed that mental load, perceived team support, and technology acceptance were significantly related to work engagement. It also showed that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and mental load were significantly related to technology acceptance. Furthermore, the analysis showed that technology acceptance partially mediates the relationship between job characteristics and work engagement, and fully mediates the relationship between technology-related perceptions and work engagement. Building on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and job demands-resources (JD-R) theory, this study provides insights into the effects of job-related and technology-related factors on remote workers’ well-being. By doing so, we contribute to the existing literature by demonstrating how remote working with the use of newly implemented technologies can be related to employees’ well-being during a pandemic.

Highlights

During earlier centuries, different pandemics have hit several countries worldwide and had health, social, cultural, and economic consequences for societies [1,2]
Few studies have examined the direct effects of job demands, job resources, and technology acceptance on work engagement drawing on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model
The present study integrated the JD-R model and technology acceptance model (TAM) to explain the effects of job characteristics, technology-related perceptions, and technology acceptance on the workrelated well-being of employees working remotely due to the COVID-19 crisis

Summary

Introduction

Different pandemics have hit several countries worldwide and had health, social, cultural, and economic consequences for societies [1,2]. The rapid spread of COVID-19 within a short time affected various aspects of human life and caused a new crisis in the world, convincing people of its long-term effects on people’s physical health, mental health, and well-being [4,5,6]. Different countries worldwide have enacted various rules since the beginning of the pandemic to prevent the transmission of this infectious disease and its devastating consequences. Norway was one country that adopted sectoral measures, and the government directed employers and employees to work from home. Affected by these measures, many Norwegian organizations decided to start remote working and reduce people’s face-to-face activities as much as possible

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