Techno-Distress

Information Systems
Psychology
Author

Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

Published

May 3, 2025

Ragu-Nathan and colleagues (2008) defined the constructs of technostress and technostress creators, also known as techno-distress and techno-distress creators respectively (Tarafdar et al., 2024). In this post, I present the definitions of both constructs.

Techno-distress is negative stress that individuals experience from using IS (Ragu-Nathan et al., 2008, p. 418). Techno-distress creators are factors that create techno-distress (p. 421). Techno-distress creators comprise techno-overload, techno-invasion, techno-complexity, techno-insecurity and techno-uncertainty (pp. 425-427).

First, techno-overload is the situation that the IS user experiences from IS use that relates to overload. If an individual experiences techno-overload, then he or she experiences the situation of being forced “to work faster and longer”, and the experience arises from the use of ICTs (p. 427). Individuals who experience techno-overload tend to agree that (p. 426):

  1. They are forced by information technology to work much faster;
  2. They are forced by information technology to do more work than they can handle;
  3. They are forced by information technology to work with very tight time schedules;
  4. They are forced to change their work habits to adapt to new information technology; and
  5. They have a higher workload because of increased information technology complexity.

Second, techno-invasion is the situation that the IS user experiences from IS use that relates to invasion. If an individual experiences techno-invasion, then he or she experiences the situation “where [he or she] can be reached anytime and feel the need to be constantly connected, thus blurring work-related and personal contexts”, and the experience arises from the “effect of ICTs” (p. 427). Individuals who experience techno-invasion tend to agree that (p. 426):

  1. They spend less time with their family due to information technology;
  2. They have to be in touch with their work even during their vacation due to information technology;
  3. They have to sacrifice their vacation and weekend time to keep current on new information technology; and
  4. They feel that their personal life is being invaded by information technology.

Third, techno-complexity is the situation that the IS user experiences from IS use that relates to complexity. If an individual experiences techno-complexity, then he or she experiences the situation of feeling “inadequate with regard to their computer skills” and being forced “to spend time and effort in learning and understanding ICTs”, and the experience arises from “the complexity associated with ICTs” (p. 427). Individuals who experience techno-complexity tend to agree that (p. 426):

  1. They do not know enough about information technology to handle their job satisfactorily;
  2. They need a long time to understand and use new information technology;
  3. They do not find enough time to study and upgrade their information technology skills;
  4. They find new recruits to their organisation know more about information technology than they do; and
  5. They often find it too complex for them to understand and use new information.

Fourth, techno-insecurity is the situation that the IS user experiences from IS use that relates to insecurity. If an individual experiences techno-insecurity, then he or she experiences the situation of feeling “threatened about losing [his or her] job”, and the experience arises “either because of automation from ICTs or to other people who have a better understanding of ICTs” (p. 427). Individuals who experience techno-insecurity tend to agree that (p. 426):

  1. They feel constant threat to their job security due to new information technology;
  2. They have to constantly update their skills to avoid being replaced;
  3. They are threatened by coworkers with newer information technology skills;
  4. They do not share their knowledge with their coworkers for fear of being replaced; and
  5. They feel there is less sharing of knowledge among coworkers for fear of being replaced.

Last, techno-uncertainty is the situation that the IS user experiences from IS use that relates to uncertainty. If an individual experiences techno-uncertainty, then he or she experiences the situation of feeling “unsettle[d]” and “uncertain […] so that they must constantly learn and educate themselves about ICTs”, and the experience arises from “continuing ICT changes and upgrades” (p. 427). Individuals who experience techno-uncertainty tend to agree that (p. 426):

  1. There are always new developments in the information technology they use in their organisation;
  2. There are constant changes in computer software in their organisation;
  3. There are constant changes in computer hardware in their organisation; and
  4. There are frequent upgrades in computer networks in their organisation.

References

Ragu-Nathan, T. S., Tarafdar, M., Ragu-Nathan, B. S., & Tu, Q. (2008). The consequences of technostress for end users in organizations: Conceptual development and empirical validation. Information systems research, 19(4), 417-433.

Tarafdar, M., Stich, J. F., Maier, C., & Laumer, S. (2024). Techno‐eustress creators: Conceptualization and empirical validation. Information Systems Journal, 34(6), 2097-2131.