Age-group Variations in the Associations Between Technostress, Job Burnout, and Work Engagement Among Nurses:...

While digital transformation has become a necessary trend for hospitals, it imposes technostress (TS) on nurses working on the healthcare front lines. According to previous research, it increases conflict between nurses and patients, but the mechanism and age difference are ignored.

A total of 672 nurses were recruited from five hospitals in Liaoning Province, China. Network analysis was adopted to analyze the network characteristics among TS, job burnout (BO), and work engagement (WE), as well as to compare gender differences.

The expected influence of techno-induced invasion of privacy was highest for nurses aged below the age of 40 (±1.15), while techno-induced role ambiguity was more significant for those aged above 40 years (±0.98). The betweenness of BO was highest (emotional exhaustion = 1.34 and cynicism = 1.77). For nurses aged below 40, the betweenness of cynicism was higher (2.06) than that of older nurses, and it had a negative association with dedication (W = -.08). Conversely, for older nurses, the betweenness of cynicism was higher (1.27) compared to nurses below 40 and was negatively associated with absorption (W = -.06).

(1) Younger nurses suffer more from invasion of privacy, while older nurses are more concerned about role ambiguity. (2) Technostress is positively and directly associated with BO and has an indirect negative relationship with WE through BO. (3) Controlling cynicism is more important for younger nurses, while emotional exhaustion is more important for older nurses. This research helps in understanding the complex interrelationships and helps hospital administrators to better address nurses' stress and adapt targeted strategies during digital transformation.