Employee perceptions of information and communication technologies in work life, perceived burnout, job satisfaction and the role of work-family balance

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) evolve rapidly, and employees perceive ICTs as both resources and demands. Based on the job-demands-resources model, we develop an ICT demands-resources model to analyze how employees' perceptions of ICTs impact burnout, work-family balance and job satisfaction. Three surveys of employees were conducted: two before and one during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show that employees perceive ICTs more strongly as resources than as demands. However, while ICT demands have a strong negative impact, ICT resources have no (before COVID-19) or only a weak (during COVID-19) positive impact on burnout and work-family balance. Mediation analyses indicate that work-family balance mitigates the negative effects of ICT demands on burnout. Higher burnout levels reduce job satisfaction. Qualitative survey responses allow for additional implications regarding how to improve work-related ICT use. Overall, findings imply that companies and employees need to focus more on ICT demands than on ICT resource management.

Automated summary

The study found that employees tend to perceive ICT as resources rather than demands. While ICT demands have a negative impact on employees, work-family balance can mitigate this effect. High levels of burnout reduce job satisfaction.