However, research indicates this is easier said than done, as nearly half of office workers using AI have not had their employers acknowledge any improvement in their work.

Many people are even feeling a strain on their personal lives and mental well-being as they try and fail to master an increasing number of new technologies. Numerous workers are now suffering from a phenomenon known as ‘technostress’ – anxiety, tension or distress from feeling overcome by how businesses are managing the introduction of new technologies.

Technostress can lead to unhappiness, burnout, and even employee turnover. Some employees may even try to ‘game the system’ with their own workarounds or ‘shadow’ technologies in an attempt to overcome difficulties with their approach to using AI, which could have a damaging impact on productivity and overall quality of output.

The hidden costs of technostress

The negative results of the phenomenon can lead to adverse physical effects and work-related problems such as burnout and reduced productivity, with 83% of workers now suffering from work-related stress. Unhappiness caused by technostress can create a domino effect that can lead to job fulfilment issues due to fostering frustrations and anxiety can cause workplace clashes, irritability and a general decline in job satisfaction.

Behavioural changes due to technostress can also cause reduced productivity and diminished job security. With Gartner predicting global spending on AI software to more than double between 2022 and 2027, addressing technostress will become increasingly important as businesses navigate the ways they use these new technologies.

The five types of technostress

So where do organisations begin in preventing technostress? The first step is to identify its causes. Technostress can be broken down into five key areas:

• Burden – the feeling of being overworked and overwhelmed by an endless data flow of messages and notifications from various origins.
• Intrusion – arising when employees are expected to remain “connected” with their work at all hours, blurring the boundaries between personal and private worlds, causing employees to begrudge their inability to detach.
• Complication – manifesting when employees are expected to understand and be as confident as their co-workers on every application, complicating their interpersonal work relationships.
• Ambiguity – the feeling of bewilderment and uncertainty due to the rapid pace of their employers’ digital transformation.
• Insecurities – when employees worry a new technology could reshape their role – or displace them altogether.

The technology thwarting technostress

To tackle technostress head-on, organisations need the overarching visibility to identify friction between technology and employees. Businesses must gain an overview of what applications are being used, by which employee, and for what purpose. By pinpointing which applications are causing issues, organisations can remove the techno-complication, making more informed decisions about resource allocation and training.

Businesses need to understand which tools in their tech stack employees are using, and also understand how a new addition will affect or disrupt an employee’s workflow. With more time to spend on more meaningful tasks, employees will be able to avoid techno-insecurity by focusing on valuable jobs, instead of the idiosyncrasies of individual applications. Unified platforms, such as Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs), can prevent technostress before it occurs, giving businesses oversight of their tech stack and the ability to control which applications are needed in employee workflows.

By giving businesses visibility into what applications are working and which aren’t, DAPs can quantify AI investment and ROI for business leaders, and the techno-intrusion that can lead to employees staying after hours to complete work.

A cultural shift

With the UK Government on the cusp of implementing a ‘right to switch-off’ order to reduce stress and boost productivity, employees are only going to become more aware and on their guard against techno-intrusion and some of the other technostresses.

In turn, organisations must proactively deal with the problem, rather than waiting for it to come knocking at their door. With platforms like DAPs that offer visibility into employee software usage, organisations can avoid the technological stressors that can stifle their workforce’s personal and professional productivity. By limiting the effects of technostress, organisations will reap the benefits of a healthier, more resilient workforce, fostering a workplace environment that gives every worker the tools that make it easy for them to deliver results.

This cultural shift will not only keep businesses in line with upcoming legislation, but safeguard the physical and mental health of employees, enhancing productivity. As AI innovation truly starts to walk the walk, businesses should be ready. The speed at which businesses can get a grip on technostress will be a deciding factor in their ability to use AI effectively to unlock productivity for decades to come.

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