The social and health implications of digital work intensification. Associations between exposure to information and com
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The social and health implications of digital work intensification. Associations between exposure to information and communication technologies, health and work ability in different socio‑economic strata Prem Borle1 · Franziska Boerner‑Zobel1 · Susanne Voelter‑Mahlknecht1 · Hans Martin Hasselhorn2 · Melanie Ebener2 Received: 30 March 2020 / Accepted: 5 October 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Purpose Older employees are often thought to be vulnerable to negative effects of information and communication technology (ICT). Our study aims to examine associations between work-related ICT exposure (i.e. ICT use or digital work intensification), physical health, mental health and work ability (WA). We examine whether these associations are modified by socio-economic position (SEP). Methods We analysed cross-sectional data from 3180 participants (born in 1959 and 1965) in wave 3 of the representative German lidA cohort study. We performed hierarchical multiple regression to assess the distinct associations of ICT use and digital work intensification with mental and physical health and WA. We stratified analyses by SEP and controlled for age, sex, and digital affinity. Results 92% of participants reported ICT use at work. Almost 20% reported high levels of digital work intensification, while a similar proportion did not experience digital work intensification. In bivariate analyses, ICT use by itself was not significantly associated with mental health or WA in the total sample or when stratified. Digital work intensification displayed negative associations with mental health and WA. In hierarchical multiple regressions, digital work intensification showed consistently negative associations with mental health and work ability of similar strength across SEP. Conclusion Our results suggest that ICT use, per se, does not negatively impact older workers. Digital work intensification may be associated with worse mental health and work ability. Research on health and social implications of work-related ICT should differentiate patterns of ICT exposure and assess modifications by SEP to better gauge the ambiguous effects of ICT. Keywords Technostress · Digital divide · Ageing workers · Job requirement level · Occupational status · Workplace wellbeing
Introduction Health implications of work‑related exposure to ICT
* Prem Borle [email protected] 1
Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Occupational Medicine, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany
Department of Occupational Health Science, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany
2
The increasing diffusion of information and communications technologies (ICT), defined as technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications, has been transforming work and life in the twenty-first century. ICT use at work has intensified with the use of ever more devices including laptops, tablets, smartph
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