Technology Overload Effect By Using Mobile Technologies In Workplace And Its Impacts On Employees’ Job Satisfaction

Mobile information and communication technologies (MICTs) are widely used today. As an emerging IT consumerization phenomenon, MICTs are prevalently adopted in the workplace to improve productivity and efficiency. Although MICTs offer many advantages, their use also affects employees negatively. For example, a few current studies have examined the specific phenomenon of mobile technostress, which has been identified as a typical negative consequence of MICT use in the workplace. However, studies on mobile technostress essentially examine the effects of several critical factors from the technostress literature in the context of mobile technology use. The internal mechanisms of mobile technostress are still unclear. Therefore, close attention should be paid to investigating the negative consequences of MICT use in the workplace.The application of information technologies greatly facilitates the transmission of information. The phenomenon of information overload has attracted increasing attention from practitioners and academics. On the basis of the concept of information overload, researchers propose that people may experience high levels of communication overload and interruption overload when using information and communication technologies (ICTs). However, the current literature explores overload phenomena in a superficial way. Very few empirical studies have explored the specific consequences of technology overload. Given the lack of systematic research on the technology overload phenomenon, the mechanisms of how ICTs are related to technology overload are still unclear. Therefore, in the present study, we aim to provide a comprehensive empirical research framework with respect to the technology overload effects in the context of MICT use in the workplace.Specifically, we intend to identify critical technology overload factors in the workplace, explore their technological antecedents, and investigate their effects on employees’job satisfaction. An initial interview process with workers is conducted to help us identify the critical technology overload factors and main antecedents, as well as to determine the scope of this study. On the basis of cognitive load theory, coping theory, the coping model of user adaptation, the person-environment fit model, and technostress literature, we develop a new research framework to investigate the technological sources and consequences of the technology overload phenomenon, as well as the individual coping strategies to reduce the perceived level of technology overload.With the literature and theoretical models as basis, we propose two key technology overload factors:information amount overload and interruption overload. Two specific problem-focused coping strategies (i.e.. information processing timeliness and job control assistant support) are discerned on the basis of coping theory. We examine the effects of technology overload factors and coping strategies on employees’job satisfaction from the theoretical lens of the coping model of user adaptation. Furthermore, we study the moderation effects of coping strategies on the relationships between technology overload factors and job satisfaction. The specific MICT features, including usability features and intrusive features, are also identified. The effects of these technology antecedents on technology overload factors are examined according to the person-environment fit model. In addition, we consider the influence of individual traits (i.e.. self-efficacy and personal innovativeness of MICTs) on coping strategies. Corresponding hypotheses are developed.A survey research methodology is adopted to validate the proposed theoretical model. Exactly 178 valid data points are collected from an online survey and field questionnaire distribution. Results show that employees significantly experience technology overload when using MICTs in the workplace. The proposed coping factors significantly improve employees’job satisfaction. We also identify the significant moderation effects of the two coping strategies but in different directions. However, specific MICT features should not be treated as the main sources of individual technology overload. This study contributes a theoretical foundation to the research on technostress. information overload, and coping theory. It also provides managerial implications for evaluating and coping with technology overload effects.