"Who's Running the Machine?" A Theoretical Exploration of Work Stress and Burnout of Technologically Tethered Workers

William C. Murray
Adam Rostis

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DOI: 10.2190/IE.12.3.f

Abstract

A recent survey of the mental health of Canadian workers has suggested that the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) such as wireless e-mail devices either maintains or increases employees' level of stress. This article explores this finding in more detail and concludes that individual coping strategies employed by workers to minimize the impact of stress are threatened by the ubiquitous communication delivered by ICTs. This in turn can have a negative impact on employee mental health and consequently may lead to negative organizational outcomes. The concept of the technologically tethered worker is introduced, and several propositions are developed for future empirical study.

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