Validating the Technostress Instrument using a Sample of Chinese Knowledge Workers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Today, the phenomenon of technostress is both pervasive and global. Nevertheless, research efforts, especially empirical and cross culture studies, in this domain have been very limited. In addition, lack of consistency in the technostress measure found in existing literature made it difficult to build a unified body of knowledge of technostress. Using a sample of 221 Chinese knowledge workers, this study cross-validated and refined the technostress measure developed by Tarafdar et al. (2007). It was found that the instrument offered high validity and reliability after some respecification in the Chinese context. Technostress experienced by Chinese knowledge workers was investigated and compared to that of US workers. The influence of individual and organizational characteristics on technostress was also examined. INTRODUCTION As an integral part of today's work environment, information technology has become an important contributor to work-related stress. The IS research community has long acknowledged the dual nature of ICTs (e.g. Thatcher & Perrewe, 2002; Brillhart, 2004; Ayyagari et al., 2011). While significant productivity gains, organizational effectiveness, and innovation have been achieved via the use of ICTs, their negative impacts on employees and organizations should not be overlooked. ICT-triggered disruptions in technologies, business processes, employee roles and responsibilities, and organizational culture can be significant sources of stress for today's workforce. Technostress is defined as any negative effect on human attitudes, thoughts, behavior, and psychology that was direct or indirect results from technology use (Weil & Rosen, 1990). Its adverse effects on employees range from behavioral outcomes such as decreased work participation, productivity and performance to cognitive and psychological symptoms such as perception of work overload, information fatigue, computer anxiety and dissatisfaction at work (Brod, 1984; Weil & Rosen, 1997; Suh & Han, 2003; Tu, et al., 2005). Studies have also found strong evidence to support that technostress led to decreased organizational and continuance commitment (Ragu-Nathan et al., 2008). Physical health dysfunctions such as sleep difficulties, headaches, irritability, stomach intestinal problems, and cardio vascular diseases have also been increasingly linked to technostress at work (Brillhart, 2004; Brod, 1984). Therefore, in today's technology-rich work environment, organizations can no longer afford to be oblivious about the pervasiveness of technostress and its toll on the workforce. Instead, organizations need to help employees reduce technostress in order to amplify their return on investments in technology and ensure organizational success. Globally, technostress is also on the rise. Heightened levels of technostress have been reported among workers in some of the fastest-growing economies such as China (Tu et al., 2005; Qiang et al., 2005), India (Sinkovics et al., 2002; Maudgalya, et al., 2004), Indonesia (Suharti and Susanto, 2014) and Malaysia (Ibrahim et al., 2014). The existence of heightened technostress in emerging economies is understandable as workers in these countries experienced dramatic changes in technological and business environments within a very short period of time. At the same time, this also reminds us that studying technostress requires a global perspective. While most of the existing studies on technostress are US-centric, it is necessary to expand technostress research to the global context. In addition, studying technostress in varied socio-economic and technological settings may yield interesting insights regarding the antecedents, consequences and remedies for technostress. Prior studies have also found that technostress was experienced by both IT professionals and end-users. The stress for IT professionals stemmed from rapid obsoletion of technical skills and increasing end-user demands for technical support (Sethi et al. …