What causes workplace stress today? The economy and the financial status of one’s employer are quite high on the list for many people. But, in 1998, it was new communications technologies – like the Internet.
From an article published in 1998:
The Kensington Stress & Technology in the Workplace Survey, which queried 501 adult U.S. full-time, traditional and home-office workers, uncovered new statistics on technology’s relationship to stress …
Nearly half of the workers surveyed, however, said technology increases stress, and 51 percent of them reported that the possibility of losing documents due to computer crashes causes them “a lot” or “some” stress. The demands of email and voice mail have also contributed to an overall increase in stress in the last year, according to the survey.
“Adjusting to new technologies-like the Web, networks, personal communications-that have saturated today’s workplace is creating new demands on workers, and that’s causing more stress;” said Odette Pollar, president of Oakland-based Time Management Systems and authority on stress in the workplace. “The question is how to make technology work in our favor without compromising our health and well-being.”
So, have we won? Do you think technologies today - web 2.0, the internet, smart-phones, and our multiple computers – still increase stress? Or is this no longer an appropriate question?