Technostress mitigation: an experimental study of social support during a computer freeze
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Technostress mitigation: an experimental study of social support during a computer freeze Christoph Weinert1 · Maier Christian1 · Sven Laumer2 · Tim Weitzel1 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract In situations when Information Systems (IS) do not work as intended, using IS might hinder their users and let them perceive technostress; this then comes along with reduced user performance and high perceptions of exhaustion, among others. To alleviate these consequences, a mitigating behavior of stressed users is to seek social support to get instrumental (e.g., from the help desk) or emotional (e.g., consolation) backing. Using insights from psychology literature that suggest social support reduces the consequences of stressors, this paper investigates how instrumental and emotional support reduces the consequences of techno-stressors, such as reduced end-user performance, techno-exhaustion, and physiological arousal, caused by techno-unreliability such as a computer freeze. In a laboratory setting, measurements of skin conductance were used to evaluate the technostress of 73 subjects, manipulated by techno-unreliability and then treated with instrumental and emotional support. The findings indicate that social support increased end-user performance as well as reduced techno-exhaustion and physiological arousal. In particular, instrumental support directly influenced enduser performance, techno-exhaustion, and physiological arousal, whereas emotional support only influenced techno-exhaustion. Further, this study provides the first indications that the effect of social support on technostress depends on individual differences.
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Christoph Weinert [email protected] Maier Christian [email protected] Sven Laumer [email protected] Tim Weitzel [email protected]
1
Information Systems and Services, University of Bamberg, An der Weberei 5, 96049 Bamberg, Germany
2
Digitalization in Business and Society, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Nürnberg 90429, Germany
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C. Weinert et al.
Keywords Instrumental and emotional support · Techno-unreliability · End-user performance · Exhaustion · Arousal · Skin conductance JEL Classification M15 · O33
1 Introduction Information systems (IS) that do not work as they should can hinder users and create technostress (Ragu-Nathan et al. 2008). Users then take countermeasures (Tarafdar et al. 2019a). One countermeasure is seeking support from others (e.g., Beaudry and Pinsonneault 2010; Liang et al. 2019). When the IS shows an error or crashes, users seek help from friends, family, or co-workers. This support from others can change their evaluation of the situation such that users see it more positively than they did initially (Beaudry and Pinsonneault 2010; Folkman et al. 1986). Hence, the act of seeking support might be a crucial ingredient in ensuring well-being and fostering progress and sustainable performance. In 2019, organizations worldwide were expected to spend up to $168.2 billion on suppo
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