TSINGHUA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

ISSN 1007-0214 0 2 / 1 5 pp 7 5 3 - 7 6 0

V o l u m e 10 , N u m b e r S I , D e c e m b e r 2005

Empirical Study of Coping Strategies for Computer-Related Technostress of Chinese Employees*

WANG Kanliang (^T [J^) * * , SHU Qin ^ ) , TU Qiang ( S My

School of M a n a g e m e n t , X i ' an J iaotong Univers i ty , X i ' an 7 1 0 0 4 9 , C h i n a ;

f Col lege of B u s i n e s s , Rochester Institute of T e c h n o l o g y , Roches ter , N Y 1 4 6 2 3 , U S A

A b s t r a c t : Technostress is defined as "any negative impact on attitudes, thoughts, behaviors, or body

psychology caused directly or indirectly by technology". With the rapid diffusion and penetration of

information and communication technology, computer-related technostress attracts more and more

attention from academic and professional fields. Based on the analysis of the inhibitors of the

computer-related technostress, this paper proposes a conceptual framework of the impacts of inhibitors

on computer-related technostress. Then a survey was conducted, data was processed and analyzed

using SPSS and LISREL. The result shows that an improved training utility in computer technology,

efficient technology-end-user help-desk will help to alleviate computer-related technostress.

Key w o r d s : technostress; computer technology ; coping strategy

Introduction With the rapid development of information and

communicat ion technology ( ICT ) , the related

appl icat ions have penet ra ted in almost every aspects of

society. According to a survey conducted in January

2005 by the China Internet Network Information Center

( CNNIC ) , 94 million Chinese users frequently

accessed the In te rne t , an increase of 7 millions

compared with only half year a g o , which corresponds to

an 8 % increase . The number is 1 5 1 . 6 t imes more than

the first survey conducted in October 1 9 9 7 , i. e. , 0 .

62 million Internet u s e r s T h e s e data indicate that

the appl icat ions of ICT are rapidly developing in

China .

Whi le providing great convenience and improved

communicat ion efficiency, the appl icat ions of ICT also

bring about many negative impacts on the nature of

work and life for people relying on ICT. For e x a m p l e ,

Received: 2005-11-09

* Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of

China ( N o . 7 0 3 7 2 0 4 9 )

* * To whom correspondence should be addressed.

E-mai l : klwang@ mail. xjtu. edu. c n ;

Te l : 8 6 - 2 9 - 8 2 6 6 8 7 4 8 ; F a x : 86-29-82665092

many enterpr ise employees perceived that they could

not control computer- re la ted technologies which upda te

frequently in routine work. They were perplexed by

such complicated technologies surrounding their work

and life. Whatever top-level management or general

employees , they were endur ing stresses from fast

technology advancement . A study conducted by two

psychologis ts , Weil and R o s e n , indicated that 5 0 % to

6 0 % of people disclosed hesitat ion in adopting new

technologies ; 3 0 % to 4 0 % of people rejected new

technology introduct ion. The study also proposed a

pa r adox , that i s , advanced modern technologies are

supposed to l iberate people from difficulties or iginal ly,

but people always perceive them to be s l aves , rather

than mas t e r s , of these technologies .

Since 1 9 8 0 s , the field of computer- re la ted

technostress has been explored extensively. Most of the

researches focused on various c a u s e s , m e a s u r e m e n t s ,

and alleviating strategies of computer- re la ted

t echnos t re s s , especial ly exper ienced by l ibrar ians . The

intention of these s tudies is not to oppose modern

technology adopt ion , but to find out effective ways to

alleviate technostress and make technology better fit our

society.

This paper focuses on the coping strategies of

computer- re la ted technost ress . Based on existing

754 Tsinghua Science and Technology, December 2 0 0 5 , 1 0 ( S I ) : 753 - 7 6 0

researches and related l i t e ra ture , we propose a

framework of the impact of coping strategies on

computer- re la ted technostress and related hypo theses ,

which are val idated by an empir ical s tudy.

1 Literature

The term " t e c h n o s t r e s s " has been in use firstly since

1 9 8 4 , when psychologist Craig Brod publ i shed his

book , Technostress; The Human Cost of the Computer

Revolution^ . He defined technostress as " a modern

disease of adaptat ion caused by an inability to cope

with the new computer technologies in a healthy

manner . It manifests itself in two dist inct and related

ways : in the struggle to accept computer technology,

and in the more special ized form of over-identification

with computer technology. " Weil and Rosen expanded

the definition of technostress to inc lude " any negative

impact on a t t i tudes , t hough t s , behaviors or psychology

caused directly or indirectly by technology " [ 3 ] .

Computer- re la ted technostress is also labeled by

researchers with various terms like t e chnophob ia ,

cybe rphob ia , compute rphob ia , computer anxie ty ,

computer s t r e s s , negative computer a t t i tudes , and the

l ike .

In s u m m a r y , we define technostress as a reflection of

o n e ' s d i scomposure , fear , t e n s e n e s s , and anxiety

when one is learning and using computer technology

directly or indi rec t ly , which ult imately ends in

psychological and emotional repulsion and prevents one

from further learning or using computer technology.

The causes and the manifestations of computer -

related technostress are multifold. For i n s t ance , Bloom

states that the scarcity of computer ability and

successful exper ience are two major reasons result ing in

computer- re la ted t e c h n o s t r e s s [ 4 ] . Computer t raining is

often impeded by such fears as breaking the m a c h i n e ,

looking s tup id , or losing control. Doronina pointed out

that computer anxiety was dis t inguished into separate

ca tegor ies : the fear of breaking the computer in some

way , being perceived as ignorant or i nep t , anxiety of

new technology and ma thema t i c s , various heal th

threa ts . In add i t ion , there are various fears concerning

new and unfamiliar t e c h n o l o g i e s [ 5 ] .

The existing researches identify four components of

t echnos t re s s : work over load, individual life invas ion ,

high complexity of technology, and occupat ional

c r i s i s 2 ' 3 . Ragu-Na than et al . [ 6 ] developed a

quest ionnaire for measur ing the extent of technostress

perceived by p e o p l e , which was adopted in this

research .

There have been many existing researches on the

coping strategies of technost ress . Monat and Lazarus

proposed several coping strategies which consist of

h u m a n behavior and the degree of percept ion towards

th ings . These strategies can d e c r e a s e , ove rcome , and

endure the compulsive reques t s . They classified the

strategies into two major ca tegor ies : emotion-oriented

strategies and problem-or iented strategies. Problem-

oriented coping refers to the improvement efforts of the

t roubled worke r / env i ronmen t relat ionship by changing

technology. For e x a m p l e , by seeking information about

what to d o , by holding back from impulsive and

premature ac t ions , and by confronting the person or

persons responsible for o n e ' s difficulty. The typical

examples of this type of coping method are training and

educat ion . Emotion-or iented coping refers to the

change of thoughts and behaviors in order to relief

menta l s t ress . This type of strategy tends to alleviate

t echnos t re s s , that i s , to improve the feelings of

sub jec t s , without the intention to change the threat and

destruct ive si tuation.

Weil and Rosen developed a human-cen te red model

to introduce new technology, which starts from human

and integrates technology and machine into the work

p lace . The model is divided into 12 independen t

a s p e c t s [ 3 ] .

Although the above aspects of human-cen te red model

are unable to resolve every problem of technostress in

organizat ion, they are helpful to reduce much

technology stress in enterpr ises . According to

l i teratures and relevant r e s e a r c h e s , we can summarize

the coping strategies as shown in Table 1.

2 Hypothesis

The current research uses the Technostress

Quest ionnaire developed by Ragu-Na than et al . [ 5 ] The

quest ionnaire was first t ranslated from English to

Chinese by the authors of this paper . In order to ensure

that the t ranslated version of the quest ionnaire is

adaptab le to the Chinese settings and that the validity

and the reliability of the original English version are

still ma in t a ined , a pilot study was conducted to

reassess the reliability and validity of the measures .

T h e n , after a prel iminary confirmatory factor analysis

was d o n e , we revised the quest ionnaire repeatedly and

confirmed the final version of the ques t ionnai re .

The first section of the quest ionnaire descr ibes

typical si tuations where the use of computer technology

can potentially create technost ress . According to the

result of confirmatory factor ana lys i s , we obtained four

factors :

WANG Kanliang (^f [ J 8.) et a l : Empirical Study of Coping Strategies for Computer-Related 755

• T e c h n o - o v e r l o a d such as higher workload ,

faster work p a c e , or change of work habit caused by

new technology;

• T e c h n o - i n v a s i o n such as personal life and

privacy invaded by new technology, e. g. , employees

spend less t ime with family or sacrifice holidays to

learn new technology;

• T e c h n o - c o m p l e x i t y such as the inability to learn

or deal with the complexity of new technology;

• Techno- insecur i ty such as technology inducing

job insecur i ty , e. g. , fears of being replaced by more

skilled people and the constant push to upda te

technica l skil ls .

The third section of quest ionnaire descr ibes typical

ways in which the use of technology is facilitated in an

organization. An exploration factor analysis was

conducted and three factors emerged.

• T h e condi t ions of tra ining a n d learning For

e x a m p l e , organization provides better end-use r training

before the introduction of new technology. ( Question

item X203 , corresponds to the first strategy shown in

Table 1 , which belongs to problem-or iented strategy. )

• T e c h n o l o g y suppor t center Enterpr ise

es tabl ishes an efficient and professional technology

support center . For e x a m p l e , the end-use r he lp-desk

does a good job of answering quest ions regarding

technology ( Question item X 2 0 6 , corresponds to the

sixth strategy shown in Table 1 , which belongs to

problem-or iented strategy. )

• E m p l o y e e s ' part ic ipat ion Enterpr ise

encourages employees to par t ic ipate in the introduction

of new technology. For e x a m p l e , end-use rs are

consulted before introduction of new technology.

(Ques t ion item X 2 1 2 , corresponds to the 11th strategy

shown in Table 1 , which belongs to emotion-oriented

strategy. )

Computer- re la ted technology has become an

indispensable part of modern enterpr ise . Enterpr ise

cannot retreat from technology, what is m o r e , new

advanced technologies appear everyday. However ,

technostress in work place will inevitably impact

o r g a n i z a t i o n ' s efficiency. For e x a m p l e , an

organization which cannot cope with computer- re la ted

technostress properly may be puzzled by higher rate of

absence and s e p a r a t i o n [ 8 ] . Craig Brod has ever warned

that the ways of technology introduction of most

enterpr ises actually " make for the generat ion of

t e c h n o s t r e s s " [ 2 ] . Consequen t ly , the most important

problem is how to avoid and reduce computer- re la ted

technostress in the process of new technology

introduct ion. If an enterprise took appropria te p lans

and acceptab le m e t h o d s , technology could realize its

po ten t ia l , making the enterpr ise more mighty and

successful . At the same t i m e , the important resource of

Table 1 Coping strategies of computer-re lated technostress

Problem-oriented coping

1 ) Enterprise provides employees more interior or exterior training opportunities for new technology and increases budget of new

technology training.

2 ) Improve and enhance e n t e r p r i s e ' s ability of system maintain and try to prevent accidents resulting in technostress.

3 ) Establish enterprise sharing information database in the form of typical cases and resolving p l an , so that the learning curve of

individual and enterprise can be shortened obviously when similar problem happens .

4 ) Amend the relationship between technology consumers and IT employees in order to resolve many instances resulting in

technostress .

5 ) Enterprises need adopt all-round and scientific IT evaluating method to avoid wrong investment resulting from carelessly

adopting prevalent technology.

6 ) Enterprise provides clear new technology documentation for consumers .

7 ) Enterprise establishes efficient technology services center , so technology problems meet by employees can be resolved in t ime.

Emotion-oriented coping

8 ) Enterprise provides better compensation and welfare plan for employees in order to enhance working activity of employees that

is helpful to reduce mental stress.

9 ) Enterprise adopts appropriate police to keep the balance between working efficiency and worker welfare, so employees can

obtain equivalent reward to their efficiency.

10 ) Promote the team spiri t , making them share the working burden resulting in technostress and resolving technological problem

together.

11 ) Before enterprise introduces new technology, explains relevant employees the profit of new technology to their work.

12 ) During technology amending or introducing, take the employee participated and accept the suggestion to new technology.

756 Tsinghua Science and Technology, December 2 0 0 5 , 1 0 ( S I ) : 753 - 7 6 0

en te rp r i se , and the mental and emotional heal th of

employees , is protected. This paper in tends to answer

the following two ques t ions : F i r s t , are the impacts of

these coping strategies on different technostress factors

effective? Second , does certain correlation exist among

technostress creators? Based on the coping strategies of

previous s t ud i e s , we propose a conceptua l model and

hypotheses about the impact of coping strategies on

computer- re la ted t echnos t re s s , trying to explore and

answer the two ques t ions .

Training helps relieve technostress by reducing

anxiety. For e x a m p l e , a mandatory 12-h course

( au tomat ion skills t r a in ing , A S T ) designed to show

new employees how to use technology and how

important technology is to both l ibraries and users . The

assessment of the series has been overwhelmingly Γ9]

new technology and enhance e m p l o y e e s ' confidence.

This leads to the following hypothesis .

• Hypothesis H 3 : technology support center can

decrease e m p l o y e e s ' work load.

• Hypothesis H 4 : technology support center will

r educe the complexity of new technology perceived by

employees .

• Hypothesis H 5 : technology support center will

decrease the insecurity of new technology perceived by

employees .

Previous s tudies argued about the relat ionship

between part icipat ive management and stress.

J a c k s o n [ 1 3 ] found that part icipat ion had a negative

effect on perceived job stress . A solution which has

become increasingly popular for deal ing with res is tance

to change is to get the people involved in

positive . The training of job skill can improve " part icipat ion " while making the change [ 1 4 ]

e m p l o y e e s ' capabil i ty and self -confidence [ 1 0 ] .

Reduc ing anxiety and improving self-confidence could

make employees feel bet ter in their job . Therefore , we

propose the following hypothesis .

• Hypothesis Hl ·, the good condit ions of training

and learning new technology that the enterprise

provides for employees will r educe their work load.

• Hypothesis H 2 : the good condit ions of training

and learning new technology that the enterprise

provides for employees can reduce the complexity of

new technology perceived by employees .

Workplace support has been discussed to reduce job

stressors and burnout through several mechan isms 1 1 ] .

Supportive communicat ion ( part icularly informational

suppor t ) can serve to reduce u n c e r t a i n t y [ 1 2 ] and hence

reduce role ambiguity. W h e n enterpr ises introduce new

technology, technology support center could exert the

same function which is helpful to settle the problem of

As

ment ioned a b o v e , enterpr ises should consider the

suggestion of employees in the process of technology

selection and design. Part icipat ive management belongs

to emotion-oriented coping. This strategy makes

employees feel respec ted . H e n c e , the feeling of

insecurity will be rel ieved. Therefore , we provide the

following hypothesis .

• Hypothesis H 6 : e m p l o y e e s ' part icipat ion before

introduction of new technology will r educe the

complexity of new technology perceived by employees .

• Hypothesis H 7 : employees ' part icipat ion before

introduction of new technology will r educe the

insecurity of new technology perceived by employees .

From the above ana lys i s , we propose a conceptual

framework and related hypotheses about the impact of

coping strategies on computer- re la ted technostress as

shown in Fig. 1.

H„ (+)

Fig. 1 Impact of coping strategy on computer-re lated technostress

WANG Kanliang (-ΞΕΤΟ 8 ) et a l : Empirical Study of Coping Strategies for Computer-Related 757

3 Research Method We distr ibuted the quest ionnaires to countrywide

corporation managers by e-mail or postal se rv ice , after

previous contact and communica t ion , and the

completed surveys were re turned in a month . The

survey was distr ibuted to a random sample of 1462

employees in 86 Chinese companies in X i ' a n ,

Shenzhen , C h e n g d u , Ta iyuan , Bei j ing , Shi j iazhuang,

and Shanghai . A total of 1029 usable quest ionnaires

were completed with a 7 0 . 3 8 % response ra te . We

checked these re turned ques t ionna i res , dismissed the

invalid ones and obtained 951 valid quest ionnaires

which were used to do the following analysis .

The quest ionnaire was divided into ten sect ions.

From section 1 to section 9 , a 5-point type scale

( Likert- type scale ) was u s e d , with 1 indicat ing

strongly disagree and 5 indicat ing strongly agree .

Responden ts were asked to circle the appropria te

number to indicate the extent to which h e / s h e agreed

or disagreed with each s ta tement . We also inc luded

percept ive quest ions about levels of individual

productivity and various demographic variables in

section 10 .

Among the r e s p o n d e n t s , 3 4 . 3 % are female , 5 8 . 5 %

are male and 2 . 3 % did not repor t ; 3 5 . 8 % are

younger than 2 6 , 4 6 % are from 26 to 35 , 1 1 . 5 % are

over 36 , and 1 . 8 % did not repor t ; 2 8 . 5 % are junior

co l lege , 4 7 . 9 % are bache lo r , 1 3 . 7 % are mas te r , and

3 . 6 % are did not report .

Then the confirmatory factor analysis was conduced

with varimax by pr incipal components . The factor

analysis and reliability scores are shown in Table 2 and

Table 3 , respect ively.

In most i n s t ances , researchers tend to use a cutoff of

0 . 3 or 0 . 4 for what they consider meaningful

l o a d i n g [ 1 5 ] . All factor loadings in our paper are higher

than 0 . 4 . The reliability scores mostly meet or exceed

the min imum 0 . 7 c r i t e r i a [ 1 6 ] .

Table 2 Factor analysis and reliability score of computer-re lated technostress creators

Factors Items Description Loading a

F l l : X101 I am forced by this technology to work much faster. 0 . 7 6 5

Techno- X102 I am forced by this technology to do more work than I can handle . 0 . 6 5 2 0 . 6 2 9 8

overload X103 I am forced by this technology to work with very tight time schedules . 0 . 7 1 1

X104 I am forced to change my work habits to adapt to new technologies. 0 . 4 6 1

X105 I have a higher workload because of increased technology complexity. 0 . 5 3 6

F 1 2 :

Techno-

invasion

X106 I have to spend a lot of time everyday reading an overwhelming amount of e-mail messages. 0 . 6 0 0 F 1 2 :

Techno-

invasion

X107

X108

I have to work harder because of delays from hardware , software, and network problems.

I spend less time with my family due to this technology.

0 . 6 4 6

0 . 7 0 0 0 . 7 9 7 8

F 1 2 :

Techno-

invasion X109 I have to be in touch with my work even during my vacation due to the technology. 0 . 7 2 4

X110 I have to sacrifice my vacation and weekend time to keep current on new technologies. 0 . 5 7 4

X l l l I feel that my personal life has been invaded by this technology. 0 . 6 0 0

X112 I do not know enough about this technology to handle my job satisfactorily. 0 . 6 7 5

X113 I need a long time to unders tand and use new technologies. 0 . 6 1 4

F 1 3 : X114 I do not find enough time to study and upgrade my technology skills. 0 . 6 2 3

Techno- X115 I find new recruits to this organization know more about computer technology than I do. 0 . 6 0 3 0 . 7 6 7 7

complexity X116 I often find it too complex for me to unders tand and use new technologies. 0 . 6 6 3

X117 I feel constant threat to my job security due to new technologies. 0 . 5 4 9

X119 I am threatened by co-workers with newer technology skills. 0 . 4 8 2

F 1 4 : X120 I do not share my knowledge with my co-workers for fear of being replaced. 0 . 8 5 1

Techno- 0 . 7 9 2 4

insecurity X121 I feel there is less sharing of knowledge among co-workers for fearing of being replaced. 0 . 8 1 3

Extraction method: Principal component analysis.

Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser normalization.

Reliability analysis method: Alpha.

758 Tsinghua Science and Technology, December 2 0 0 5 , 1 0 ( S I ) : 753 - 7 6 0

Table 3 Factor analysis and reliability score of coping strategies

Factors Items Description Loading a

F21 : The

condition of

training and

learning

X203

X204

X205

Our organization provides good end-user training before the introduction of new

technology.

Our organization fosters a good relationship between IT department and end-users .

Our organization provides clear documentation to end users on using new

technologies.

0 . 8 2 9

0 . 7 3 2

0 . 6 8 5

0 . 7 4 3 0

X206 Our end-user help-desk does a good job of answering questions regarding

technology.

0 . 7 5 2

F22 : Technology

support center X207

X208

Our end-user help-desk is well staffed by knowledgeable individuals.

Our end-user help-desk is easily accessible .

0 . 7 3 2

0 . 7 6 2

0 . 7 9 1 0

X209 Our end-user help-desk is responsive to end-user requests . 0 . 7 3 4

F23 : Employees '

participation

X211 Our end users are rewarded for using new technologies.

X212 Our end-users are consulted before introduction of new technology.

X213 Our end-users are involved in technology change a n d / o r implementation.

0 . 7 5 9

0 . 8 0 7

0 . 7 5 2

0 . 7 4 3 3

Extraction method: Principal component analysis.

Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser normalization.

Reliability analysis method: Alpha.

4 Results and Analysis

Structural equat ion model ing ( SEM ) , which is the

compound of path analysis and factor ana lys i s , has

more outs tanding advantages than tradit ional regression

analys is . It can deal with mul t i - independen t s and allow

of latent variables composed of several exogenous and

est imate the fit statistics of the overall model 1 7 ] .

Therefore , the research uses L ISREL8 . 2 as the

statistical tool , which is a software for s tructural

equat ion model ing. The result of overall model fitness

supports the conceptual m o d e l , with a goodness of fit

index ( GFI ) of 0 . 91 ; an adjusted goodness of fit

index ( A G F I ) of 0 . 8 8 ; a root mean square error of

approximation ( RMSEA ) of 0 . 061 ; a ch i - square of

1263 (χ2/df = 4 . 5 1 ) ; a comparat ive fit index ( C F I )

of 0 . 85 ; a normed incrementa l fit index ( N F I ) of

0 . 8 2 . The path coefficient of the SEM model is shown

Fig. 2 .

Fig. 2 Path coefficient of S E M

The path coefficient γ is a basic validate which

displays the correlation between different latent

var iables .

Hypothesis Hl predicts that the good condit ions of

t raining and learning new technology enterpr ise provide

for employees will r educe their workload. However ,

contrary to the p red ic t ion , the relat ionship between the

good condition of training and learning new technology

and e m p l o y e e s ' work load was significantly positive ( y

= 0 . 11 ) . Hypothesis H 2 , which predicts that the good

condit ions of training and learning new technology

enterpr ise provides for employees can reduce the

WANG Kanliang (-ΞΕΤΟ 8.) et a l : Empirical Study of Coping Strategies for Computer-Related 759

complexity of new technology perceived by t h e m , was

partially suppor ted . The good condit ions of training and

learning new technology are negatively correlated to the

extent of invading individual life and privacy. But it is

not significant.

Hypothesis H 3 , which states that technology support

center can decrease e m p l o y e e s ' work load , was not

supported from the result of path analysis . Hypothesis

H 4 predicts that technology support center will r educe

the complexity of new technology perceived by them.

According to the path coefficient, enterprise build

technology support center is significantly negative to the

complexity of new technology. S o , it was strongly

suppor ted . Hypothesis H 5 , which states that

technology support center will decrease the insecurity

of new technology perceived by t h e m , was also strongly

suppor ted .

Hypothesis H 6 , which states that e m p l o y e e s '

part icipat ion in the process of the introduction of new

technology will r educe the complexity of new

technology perceived by t h e m , was not suppor ted .

Hypothesis H 7 , which states that e m p l o y e e s '

part icipat ion in the process of the introduction of new

technology will r educe the insecurity of new technology

perceived by t h e m , was also not suppor ted .

This research also tested the relat ionship between the

technostress creators . We can see from Fig. 1 , the

impact of techno-complexi ty on techno-over loading ,

t echno- invas ion , and techno- insecur i ty (β) is 0 . 2 7 ,

0 . 3 2 , and 0 . 3 0 , respect ively. The impact of t echno-

overloading on techno- invasion (β) is 0 . 4 2 .

Therefore , we can conclude that techno-overload could

increase t echno- invas ion ; the techno-complexi ty could

increase t echno- invas ion ; the techno-complexi ty could

increase t echno- insecur i ty ; the techno-complexi ty

could increase techno-over load.

The reason why Hypothesis Hl was not supported can

be explained as follows. Employees always need to

take much more time to learn new technology.

However , their routine work and task did not decrease

at all . S o , during a short pe r iod , t raining and learning

activities may increase e m p l o y e e s ' work load and

perceived stress. From the long r u n , the good

condit ions of training and learning new technology

make employees learn new technology easily and more

efficiently. In the current r e s e a r c h , Hypothesis H u was

supported which states that the complexity of new

technology will increase e m p l o y e e s ' work load.

Therefore , the good condit ions of training and learning

new technology enterprise provides for employees are

not helpless for decreas ing their work load. We can

conclude that the good condit ions of training and

learning new technology that the enterpr ise provides for

employees cannot reduce their work load directly. But

it can indirectly reduce their work load by decreas ing

the complexity of new technology. T h u s , it can relieve

e m p l o y e e s ' computer- re la ted technost ress .

The reason why Hypothesis H 3 has not been

supported can be explained as follows. The relat ionship

between technology support center and e m p l o y e e s '

work load is posit ive. W h e n computer system in work

place encounters t roub les , the busy employees such as

tellers of a bank office may have a rest for a while . If

technology support center resolves the problem in a few

m i n u t e s , employees have to resume their routine work.

S o , they may perceive an increase of work load from

the psychological perspect ive . However , technology

support center which is efficient and professional can

help employees to learn new technology and resolve

problems in t ime. T h u s , the routine works become

much easier . Employees also perceive a decrease of

work load from the long-run. Therefore , technology

support center may indirectly reduce e m p l o y e e s ' work-

loading and alleviate their computer- re la ted

technost ress .

We can also provide an explanat ion for the rejection

of Hypothesis H 6 and Hypothesis H 7 . Coch and French

conducted a systematic research on the phenomenon

that people resist to c h a n g e [ 1 8 ] . They found that

introducing a part icipat ion mechan i sm could notably

decrease p e o p l e ' s res is tance to change . However ,

contrary to the r e s e a r c h , part icipat ion mechan ism does

not depress the complexity and insecurity of new

technology perceived by the employees . It could be

resul ted from the re luc tance of employees to be

involved in the introduction of new technology but were

forced to do so. Locke and Schweiger identified an

addit ional d imension of part icipat ive m a n a g e m e n t ,

which varies from forced part icipat ion to voluntary

part icipat ion 1 9 ] . The dist inction between forced and

voluntary part icipat ion is important for unders tanding

the affective context in which part icipat ion occurs . The

at t i tudes of both management and non-management

personnel may be more antagonist ic than when

part icipat ion in decision making is pract iced

voluntarily. Consequen t ly , in order to alleviate

computer- re la ted technostress in the process of

in t roduct ion , it should be recommended that voluntary

part icipat ion is more product ive .

5 Conclusions Based on the summaries of the typical si tuations of

760 Tsinghua Science and Technology, December 2 0 0 5 , 1 0 ( S I ) : 753 - 7 6 0

potential technostress and all k inds of coping

s t ra tegies , the paper proposed a framework of the

impact of coping strategies on computer- re la ted

technostress among Chinese employees and tested 11

hypotheses by SEM. We reached three main

conclusions from the study. Firs t , the good conditions of

training and learning enterprises provide for employees

can decrease the complexity of new technology, and

alleviate computer-related technostress. Secondly,

technology support center can decrease the complexity of

new technology, and alleviate computer-related

technostress . Thirdly , technology support center can

decrease the insecurity of new technology, and alleviate

computer-related technostress.

This paper contr ibutes to the field of technostress by

providing a conceptual framework of the relat ionship of

technostress and stressors and a refined inst rument of

computer- re la ted technost ress . The paper also provides

several validated coping strategies of computer- re la ted

technostress to professionals. By using the coping

strategies efficiently, it is hopeful that the adoption of

computer- re la ted appl icat ions will be more p roduc t ive ,

and employees ' job efficiency will be increased and

en t e rp r i s e ' competi t ion advantages be enhanced .

One limitation of our study is that the scope of

s a m p l e , which may lead to excessive convergence in

zones and demographic var iables . The second

limitation is that we did not consider the impact of

g e n d e r , a g e , and educat ion l eve l , which may moderate

the findings of the paper . For e x a m p l e , the receptivity

of new technology among employees with different

educat ion levels var ies . S o , they may have different

percept ions under completely similar environment .

F ina l ly , an important limitation is that this study has

not separated computer- re la ted technostress from job

stress effectively.

Research about computer- re la ted technostress in

Chinese enterpr ises is a new and growing field. Fur ther

researches on the differences of computer- re la ted

technostress are called for, such as the differences

across indus t r i e s , organizat ions , and individuals .

References

[ 1 ] C N N I C ( 2 0 0 5 ) . The 15th Chinese In te rne t

deve lopment report , h t t p : / / w w w . c n n i c . n e t . c n , Jan .

2 5 , 2 0 0 5 .

2 ] Brod C. T e c h n o s t r e s s : The H u m a n Cost of the

Computer Revolut ion . R e a d i n g s , M A : Addison-

W e s l e y , 1984 : 1 - 3 .

3 ] Wei l Μ Μ, Rosen L D. T e c h n o S t r e s s : Coping with

Technology @ W O R K @ HOME @ PLAY. New Y o r k :

John Wiley & S o n s , 1997 : 15 - 2 0 , 1 9 0 - 2 0 4 .

4 ] Bloom A J. An anxiety managemen t approach to

compute rphob ia . Training and Development Journal,

1 9 8 5 , 3 9 ( 1 ) : 9 0 - 9 4 .

5 ] Doronina Ο V. Fear of compute r . Russian Education

and Society, 1 9 9 5 , 3 7 ( 2 ) : 1 0 - 2 8 .

6 ] Ragu-Na than B , Ragu-Na than T S , Tu Q. A

l a rge - sca l e , mul t ina t iona l invest igat ion of t echno-s t ress

and its impac t on information technology ( I T )

workforce product iv i ty . Resea rch Proposal Submi t ted to

IT Resea rch Division of the U. S. Nat ional Sc ience

Founda t ion . 2002 .

7 ] Monat A , Lazarus R S. Stress and Cop ing , 3rd Ed .

New Y o r k : Columbia Univ. P r e s s , 1991 : 1 - 1 5 .

8 ] Ha rpe r S. Managing t echnos t ress in UK l i b r a r i e s : A

rea l is t ic gu ide . Ariadne Magazine, 2 0 0 0 , ( 2 5 ) .

9 ] Clark K, Kalin S. Technos t r e s sed out? How to cope in

the digital age. Library Journal, 1 9 9 6 , 1 2 1 ( 1 3 ) :

3 0 - 3 2 .

10 ] Xu Xiaodong. The Job Stress and Management in

Modern Organizat ion. China Labors P r e s s , 1 9 9 9 :

33 —35. ( i n C h i n e s e )

11 ] Ray Ε Β , Miller Κ I. The inf luence of communica t ion

s t ruc ture and social suppor t on job s t ress and burnout .

Management Communication Quarterly, 1 9 9 1 , 4 : 5 0 6 .

12 ] Albrech t Τ L , Ade lman Μ Β. Communica t ing Social

Support . Newbury P a r k , C A : Sage , 1987.

13 ] Jackson S E. Par t ic ipa t ion in dec is ion making as a

strategy for r educ ing job- re la ted s t ra in . Journal of

Applied Psychology, 1 9 8 3 , 68 : 3 - 19.

14 ] Lawrence Ρ R. How to deal with r e s i s t ance to change .

Harvard Business Review , 1969 , 47 ( 1 ) : 4 — 12.

15 ] Pedhazu r Ε J , Schmelk in L P. M e a s u r e m e n t , Des ign ,

and A n a l y s i s : An In tegra ted Approach . N J : H i l l s d a l e ,

1 9 9 1 : 6 0 3 .

16 ] Nunnal ly J C. Psychomet r ic Theory , 2nd Ed. New

Y o r k : McGraw-Hi l l , 1978 .

17 ] Hou J ie ta i . S t ruc tura l Equa t ion Model and Its

Appl ica t ions . Educa t iona l Sc ience Pub l i sh ing House of

C h i n a , 2 0 0 5 : 1 2 - 15 . ( i n C h i n e s e )

18 ] Coch L , F rench J R Ρ Jr . Overcoming res i s t ance to

change . Human Relations, 1 9 4 8 , 1 ( 4 ) : 512 —532.

19 ] Locke Ε Α , Schweiger D M. Par t ic ipa t ion in

d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g : One more look. I n : Staw Β Μ , ed.

Resea rch in Organiza t ional Behav io r , Volume 1.

G r e e n w i c h , C T : JAI P r e s s , 1979 .