Information technology as daily stressor: pinning down the causes of burnout

Abstract

The research presented in this article aims to identify information technology-related stressors in daily work life that might contribute to burnout. We provide a detailed analysis of techno- and work-stressors, techno- and work-exhaustion, as well as the consequences of and interrelations among these perceptions. Techno-stressors and techno-exhaustion are theorized as antecedents of work-stressors, work-exhaustion, and work-related outcomes, such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention. The proposed model assesses whether using information technology (IT) or other work-stressors cause exhaustion and consequently negative outcomes in terms of low job satisfaction, low organizational commitment, and high turnover intention. The results of an empirical study with 306 employees show that IT usage causes exhaustion because techno-stressors contribute to techno-exhaustion, which in turn influences work-exhaustion significantly. Our results also reveal that work-exhaustion negatively impacts job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention, whereas techno-exhaustion only indirectly causes these psychological and behavioral responses through work-exhaustion. Finally, post hoc analyses identify that employees who use IT as a supporting tool for their daily work process (such as HR workers) report higher levels of techno-exhaustion than employees for whom IT is the core of their work (IT professionals, such as software developers).