Abstract
The use of ICTs has become an obligation rather than an option for teachers. This intense pressure leads to a modern adaptation disorder expressed as technostress. Technostress is one of the many problems experienced particularly by beginning teachers, and the technostress levels of these teachers were investigated. For this purpose, in the 2015-2016 academic years, data were collected from 83 teachers having a professional seniority of 0-5 years. It was concluded that the general levels of technostress of the teachers were moderate, which they had a moderate-level technostress at the learning-teaching process-oriented, technical-issue-oriented, and social-oriented technostress factors, and they had a low-level of technostress at the profession-oriented and personal-oriented technostress factors. When examined in terms of the variables, while the general level of technostress does not vary by gender and branch group, it varies by the variable of average use of the internet. Finally, the solution proposals for technostress were examined.
TopBackground
Technostress, according to the definition made by Brod (1984), is a modern disease that arises with the self-inadequacy to adapt to computer technologies. With the continuous progress of technology, a lot of employees have suffered from technostress (Ahmad, Amin, & Ismail, 2014). Fundamentally, technostress is the negative feelings, thoughts, behaviours, and attitudes, such as anxiety, which employees feel when they have to deal with new technologies (Weil & Rosen, 1997; Kupersmith, 1992). Technostress is the direct or indirect negative affect on people’s attitudes, thoughts, behaviours, and psychology that are caused by the use of computer-based technologies (Tu, Wang, & Shu, 2005). Psychological behaviours such as fear, anxiety, and hostility, which prevent the best use of computer-based ICT, show resistance (Shu, Tu, & Wang, 2011). Salanova, Llorens, Cifre, and Nogareda (2007) described the concept of technostress as anxiety, mental fatigue, skepticism, and ineffectiveness that are caused by the use of ICT.
In another source, it is stated that technostress is a management problem. In order to adapt to the rapid changes as the necessity of the information age, many institutions require upgrading the technological knowledge and skills of their employees. For this reason, technostress represents today’s technological management problem that employees face in the business environment (Hung, Chang, & Lin, 2014).
As it can be understood from the definitions given above, technostress, in the most basic sense, is the phenomenon of stress that occurs in the ICT use of people in the business life or when it is to be used.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Technostress: It is a type of stress that is caused by the rapid changes in technology and occurs as a result of the inability to meet the changing competencies.
ICT: They are all kinds of visual, auditory, printed, and written instruments that enable the access to information and the creation of information.
FATIH Project: It is a big educational project applied at the national level in Turkey that aims to equip the classes with the Internet, interactive whiteboards, and tablet computers. For more detailed information you can visit http://fatihprojesi.meb.gov.tr/ .
Digital Technology: It means any device that uses a computer or a semiconductor to perform its functions.
Kruskal Wallis H Test: It is a statistical technique used to determine whether there is any difference between the two groups in cases where the data are not normally distributed due to reasons such as the small number of samples.
Scale: It is a data collection tool that is developed for a determined purpose to measure a specific characteristic, of which validity and reliability studies are performed, and which is frequently used in social sciences.
Year of Seniority: It is the equivalent of years of the duty term when employees do not take time off from work except for their right to legal annual and casual leave and which they spend working in person.