However, avoiding the use of ICT would be very costly [ 4 ]. Among others, Bandura [ 5 ] has pointed out that the key psychological factor responsible for resistance to technological change is the person's perceived ability to use the technology or the product connected to it successfully. Although stress is a phenomenon well known by everyone, the meaning and concept of stress are rather complex.
According to Selye [ 6 ] stress is a non-specific response of the body given to severe influences or situations; it is adaptation. Hence he has a reverse definition for stress. However stress does not only lie in the situation, but in the characteristics and perception of the individual [ 7 ]. Stress as a process is closely related to the autonomic nervous system, which consists of two parts, the sympathetic nervous system SNS and the parasympathetic nervous system PNS.
In stressful situations SNS stimulates the body triggering physiological, biological and psychological changes to adapt the body to the situation - increases the functioning of organs, dilates pupils, activate sweat glands, elevates blood pressure and increases heart rate [ 8 ].
In the after stress phase PNS induces an opposite process. According to the transactional model of stress [ 9 ] , the degree of stress experienced depends on the functioning of two protective physiological mechanisms; the first one is the alarm, and the second is the adaptation [ 10 ].
Adaptation is happening in the minds of people facing stressful events. It is a complex process of reaction. On the one hand, there is a cognitive evaluation of the situation which is potentially of threatening nature, on the other hand it is the connected bodily reactions that emerge, or right on the contrary, cease to exist owing to the negative, or positive outcome of the evaluation. It is not only possible to get "stressed" by too demanding situations, it is also likely to experience stress, because of being mentally, emotionally, socially, or physically under-stimulated.
So, parallel to the correlation between arousal and performance, demand and stress also have a kind of U shaped graph [ 11 ] , where both high and low levels of demand are perceived to be stressful by the individual.
What is more an inverse U curve relationship exists between mental effort and mental stress as well, where mental effort is the lowest at the highest mental stress and there is no significant difference in mental effort at low and medium stress levels [ 12 ]. Hence, understanding stress on an individual level is necessary but not sufficient.
In line with this, numerous studies lead us to the conclusion that higher levels of work stress give rise to psychological and somatic symptoms and induce lower satisfaction with life, self and the work [ 13 , 14 ].
Emergence of mental disorders often coincides with low levels of control over work [ 15 , 16 ]. Among others, Siegrist [ 17 ] and Whang, Lee, Chang [ 18 ] have found disproportion, or rather imbalance, of effort to reward to be a major potential for development of somatic and mental diseases. In the Demand-Controll-Support model demand represents work stressors such as time pressure or increased pace of work, control is about skill discretion and decision authority, while support would involve all kinds of social support, namely tangible, informational, emotional, and positive social.
Close correlation of cardiovascular diseases and mortality with low control over the work has also been demonstrated by early medical-sociological studies [ 20 , 21 ]. Excessive amount of personal responsibility, high probability of job-related failure, or the frequent occurrence of crisis situations as well as the need for intense and wide-range emotional labour on a regular basis can also lead to stress in the employees. Well-structured and organised work is less demanding, clearly defined goals are easier to meet, hence, not only the nature of work to be done can be stressful, but the organisation thereof is also essential.
Uncertainty for example is strongly related to stress. The amount of information that ICT systems can produce is often far too much for anyone to take in. This results in 'information overload' and people end up feeling they can't cope and become stressed.
Workers can be monitored using ICT systems. Call centre staff are monitored to make sure that they don't spend too long on any one call. The number of products that a check-out person scans during a minute are counted. This feeling of being constantly 'watched' can be very stressful. Symptoms Anxiety Headaches Palpitations Feeling sick Depression Prevention By the organisation: Regular communication between staff and managers to sort out any issues.
Many of us use our phone at bedtime. Looking at our phones when we should be going to sleep has the double whammy effect of over-stimulating our brains, making it hard to wind down and switch off, and exposing us to blue light from the screen. Research suggests that blue screen exposure can reduce melatonin production, which interrupts our circadian rhythm i.
Unfortunately, poor sleep tends to mean poorer resilience and higher levels of anxiety and stress. While in the past there was often a clear boundary between where work life ended, and home life began… this area is now very much grey.
Most of us have our work emails on our phones, making us constantly available and contactable. This makes it very difficult for us to ever truly disengage from work and relax. Like us, they probably have… but the majority probably decide not to, because of FOMO. To find out more about research exploring the relationship between problematic smartphone use, FOMO and mental wellbeing, click here.
Social Media, by its nature, actively encourages social comparison, as it is littered with information that can easily be used as metrics of apparent social success e. Andrews, S.
Beyond self-report: tools to compare estimated and real-world smartphone use. PloS one, 10 10 , e Appel, H. The interplay between Facebook use, social comparison, envy, and depression. Current Opinion in Psychology, 9 , Chang, A. Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 4 , Cheever, N.
Out of sight is not out of mind: The impact of restricting wireless mobile device use on anxiety levels among low, moderate and high users.
Computers in Human Behavior , 37 , Corcoran, K. Social comparison: Motives, standards, and mechanisms. Charee Ed.
Deloitte Consumer usage patterns in the era of peak smartphone. Elhai, J. Fear of missing out, need for touch, anxiety and depression are related to problematic smartphone use. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, Hughes, N. Computers in Human Behavior, 85 , Konok, V.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. The technology age has given us access to abundant information, has simplified many aspects of our lives, and has even improved our ability to connect with others throughout the world.
It does, however, come with a few downsides.
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