The Role of Gender, Age, and Technology Affinity in Experiencing Techno-Distress and Techno-Eustress

Digital technologies evolved into important tools in our lives, especially in the work context. However, their use is often associated with stress. This so-called technostress can be divided into two distinct dimensions, namely techno-distress, which is associated with negative consequences, and techno-eustress, which is linked with favorable outcomes. Despite its prevalence, the literature on these two dimensions of technostress is relatively new and lacks research, especially in certain work domains such as manufacturing. To deepen the understanding of the concept, the current article adopts an explorative approach to examine the roles of the demographic variables gender, age and technology affinity to both, techno-distress and techno-eustress. This article features the results of an online survey with a final sample of 90 employees within the manufacturing work context. The results for techno-distress yield a negative relation to gender, indicating that men experience more techno-distress, and a positive relation to age, meaning that older people felt more techno-distress. For techno-eustress, a positive relation to technology affinity was established, suggesting that people who are more technology-affine experience more techno-eustress. These insights contribute to the sparse literature and help to clarify the understanding of technostress. Future research should incorporate these demographic factors when examining further aspects of technostress and investigate their applicability to different work domains.