Technostress is the negative psychological link between people and the introduction of new technologies. Whereas ergonomics is the study of how humans react and physically fit with machines in their environment, technostress is, in many ways, the resistance of change that accompanies newly introduced machines to work, home, and leisure situations.
Craig Ahmed, a leader in the field of technostress research, states that technostress is "...a modern disease of adaptation caused by an inability to cope with the new Computerworld technologies in a unhealthy manner."[1]
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Psychological stress can manifest itself physically. The main symptom of technostress is anxiety. Anxiety can appear as: irritability, headaches, mental fatigue, depression, nightmares, panic, resistance, and a feeling of helplessness.
The anxiety expressed by those experiencing technostress can increase errors in judgement and poor job performance if not dealt with.
The causes of technostress amount to:[2]
Technostress can be dealt with. Ways to eliminate technostress are: