Cross-context Validation of a Technostress Scale for the Aging Workforce

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health Psychology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Gerontology

Background:

• Technostress, or stress caused by technology, is a growing concern in the modern workplace.
• Older workers (over 50) may face unique challenges adapting to new technologies.
• Existing technostress scales may not adequately capture the nuances of this demographic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To psychometrically evaluate a workplace-adapted Technostress scale for workers aged 50 and above.
• To assess the reliability and validity of the adapted scale in diverse industrial sectors.
• To provide a validated instrument for measuring technostress in older employees.

Main Methods:

• Data collected from 470 workers over 50 in finance, packaging, and steel industries.
• Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega) and criterion validity were assessed.
• Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) examined the scale's factor structure and correlations with stress, coping, well-being, and workability.

Main Results:

• The adapted Technostress scale demonstrated strong reliability (coefficients > 0.75) and validity.
• CFA confirmed a bifactor model with excellent fit indices (CFI=0.98, TLI=0.96, RMSEA=0.05).
• Technostress positively correlated with stress and negatively with well-being and workability, with variations by sex and role.

Conclusions:

• The adapted Technostress scale is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing technostress in older workers.
• Findings support the use of this scale to identify specific needs within this demographic.
• The scale can inform targeted interventions to enhance workplace well-being and productivity for older employees.