Technostress and leadership: A case study in higher education during the COVID-19 crisis
Brennan, Fintan (2021)
2021
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202102112218
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202102112218
Tiivistelmä
Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the workplace over the past decades has brought increased efficiency, productivity and flexibility. One side effect of this change has been the emergence of ‘technostress’, a form of stress as a result of an inability to adapt to or cope with technology. This can have severe impacts on employee well-being, job satisfaction and performance.
This study investigated the technostress experiences of a group of English- language teachers at a private university in Tokyo, Japan following a sudden pivot to online learning due to the 2020 COVID-19 situation. The study aimed to understand the levels of technostress of teachers, what the main creators and inhibitors are, and what role leadership played in assisting teachers in dealing with technostress, and what improvements leadership could make.
The analysis was based on surveys collected from 30 teachers and follow-up interviews with 11 of these teachers. The survey contained an amended version of a pre-existing scale and also a number of open-ended questions.
Research findings indicated that technostress was experienced by 60% of the teachers. The main creator was techno-overload due to the changes in teaching format, from face-to-face to online. Isolation and disconnect due to student reluctance to use webcams during synchronous classes was also a commonly reported creator. The main inhibitor was IT support provision. Leadership was found to have supported most in sharing content for classes. It was recommended that leadership should create more opportunities for peer-sharing and provide clearer guidance on best-practices for online classes.
This study investigated the technostress experiences of a group of English- language teachers at a private university in Tokyo, Japan following a sudden pivot to online learning due to the 2020 COVID-19 situation. The study aimed to understand the levels of technostress of teachers, what the main creators and inhibitors are, and what role leadership played in assisting teachers in dealing with technostress, and what improvements leadership could make.
The analysis was based on surveys collected from 30 teachers and follow-up interviews with 11 of these teachers. The survey contained an amended version of a pre-existing scale and also a number of open-ended questions.
Research findings indicated that technostress was experienced by 60% of the teachers. The main creator was techno-overload due to the changes in teaching format, from face-to-face to online. Isolation and disconnect due to student reluctance to use webcams during synchronous classes was also a commonly reported creator. The main inhibitor was IT support provision. Leadership was found to have supported most in sharing content for classes. It was recommended that leadership should create more opportunities for peer-sharing and provide clearer guidance on best-practices for online classes.