Technostress Among Academics in Higher Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The adoption of new technologies has revolutionized teaching and learning in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the last few decades, particularly during the recent pandemic crisis. Although the adoption of technology affords many benefits and conveniences to educators and students, increasing evidence has highlighted the escalating stressors connected to the adoption of technologies in and beyond classrooms for academics. This phenomenon is also coined as technostress, which refers to a “disease of adaptation” caused by an individual's failure to cope with technological change in a healthy way. The struggle to adapt to technological changes can directly or indirectly impact academics' physical health, mental and psychological well-being, and job performance. Therefore, this chapter aims to 1) understand what is technostress, (2) identify sources of technostress, (3) examine technostress in higher education (HE), and (4) highlight strategies to mitigate technostress.