Telework in Times of Crisis: Perceptions of Technostress and Job Performance

Although organizations had already considered telework a viable option for several years, the COVID-19 pandemic heightened its importance, as it became the only feasible solution to maintain operations across most productive sectors. Currently, an increasing number of companies adopt this work modality. However, little is known about how levels of stress and job performance evolved during the lockdown. This article aims to describe how the forced implementation of telework influenced technostress levels and employee performance. A qualitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted, drawing on ten semi-structured interviews with teleworkers from various sectors. The main findings revealed negative manifestations of technostress, yet also highlighted positive aspects such as learning and sustainability. Regarding performance, personal values, individual skills, technological proficiency, and self-management contributed to maintaining or enhancing it. The article offersrecommendations for mitigating and managing technostress.