The Digital Stressors Scale: Development and Validation of a New Survey Instrument to Measure Digital Stress Perceptions in the Workplace Context
This article reports on the development of an instrument to measure the perceived stress that results from the use and ubiquity of digital technology in the workplace. Based upon a contemporary understanding of stress and a set of stressors that is a substantial update to existing scales, the Digita...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.607598/full |
| _version_ | 1818369413992153088 |
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| author | Thomas Fischer Martin Reuter René Riedl René Riedl |
| author_facet | Thomas Fischer Martin Reuter René Riedl René Riedl |
| author_sort | Thomas Fischer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article reports on the development of an instrument to measure the perceived stress that results from the use and ubiquity of digital technology in the workplace. Based upon a contemporary understanding of stress and a set of stressors that is a substantial update to existing scales, the Digital Stressors Scale (DSS) advances the measurement of digital stress. Initially, 138 items were constructed for the instrument and grouped into a set of 15 digital stressors. Based on a sample of N = 1,998 online questionnaires completed by individuals representative of the US employed population, the scale was refined using exploratory factor analyses (EFA) and PLS-SEM. The resulting and final scale consists of ten stressor categories reflective of one higher-order construct and a total of 50 items. Through a nomological network that includes important outcome variables of digital stress (emotional exhaustion, innovation climate, job satisfaction, user satisfaction) it was then demonstrated that the DSS provides substantial explanatory power, particularly related to emotional exhaustion and user satisfaction. Thus, the DSS constitutes a state-of-the-art self-report instrument to measure the extent of distress appraisal related to digital technologies in the workplace and helps to explain further how and why information and communication technologies can lead to adverse outcomes in individuals, thereby providing the starting point for job related organizational interventions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T23:23:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4c75dd6b40fa406598cc90fdc7dffd94 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T23:23:27Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-4c75dd6b40fa406598cc90fdc7dffd942022-12-21T23:27:37ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782021-03-011210.3389/fpsyg.2021.607598607598The Digital Stressors Scale: Development and Validation of a New Survey Instrument to Measure Digital Stress Perceptions in the Workplace ContextThomas Fischer0Martin Reuter1René Riedl2René Riedl3Institute of Digital Business, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, AustriaDepartment of Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, GermanyDigital Business, School of Business and Management, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Steyr, AustriaInstitute of Business Informatics – Information Engineering, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, AustriaThis article reports on the development of an instrument to measure the perceived stress that results from the use and ubiquity of digital technology in the workplace. Based upon a contemporary understanding of stress and a set of stressors that is a substantial update to existing scales, the Digital Stressors Scale (DSS) advances the measurement of digital stress. Initially, 138 items were constructed for the instrument and grouped into a set of 15 digital stressors. Based on a sample of N = 1,998 online questionnaires completed by individuals representative of the US employed population, the scale was refined using exploratory factor analyses (EFA) and PLS-SEM. The resulting and final scale consists of ten stressor categories reflective of one higher-order construct and a total of 50 items. Through a nomological network that includes important outcome variables of digital stress (emotional exhaustion, innovation climate, job satisfaction, user satisfaction) it was then demonstrated that the DSS provides substantial explanatory power, particularly related to emotional exhaustion and user satisfaction. Thus, the DSS constitutes a state-of-the-art self-report instrument to measure the extent of distress appraisal related to digital technologies in the workplace and helps to explain further how and why information and communication technologies can lead to adverse outcomes in individuals, thereby providing the starting point for job related organizational interventions.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.607598/fulldigital stressstressorsquestionnairemeasurement scalevalidationtechnostress |
| spellingShingle | Thomas Fischer Martin Reuter René Riedl René Riedl The Digital Stressors Scale: Development and Validation of a New Survey Instrument to Measure Digital Stress Perceptions in the Workplace Context Frontiers in Psychology digital stress stressors questionnaire measurement scale validation technostress |
| title | The Digital Stressors Scale: Development and Validation of a New Survey Instrument to Measure Digital Stress Perceptions in the Workplace Context |
| title_full | The Digital Stressors Scale: Development and Validation of a New Survey Instrument to Measure Digital Stress Perceptions in the Workplace Context |
| title_fullStr | The Digital Stressors Scale: Development and Validation of a New Survey Instrument to Measure Digital Stress Perceptions in the Workplace Context |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Digital Stressors Scale: Development and Validation of a New Survey Instrument to Measure Digital Stress Perceptions in the Workplace Context |
| title_short | The Digital Stressors Scale: Development and Validation of a New Survey Instrument to Measure Digital Stress Perceptions in the Workplace Context |
| title_sort | digital stressors scale development and validation of a new survey instrument to measure digital stress perceptions in the workplace context |
| topic | digital stress stressors questionnaire measurement scale validation technostress |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.607598/full |
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