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Stress reactions in computerized administrative work
Author(s) -
Johansson Gunn,
Aronsson Gunnar
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of organizational behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.938
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1099-1379
pISSN - 0894-3796
DOI - 10.1002/job.4030050302
Subject(s) - alertness , arousal , heart rate , blood pressure , psychosocial , mood , psychology , work (physics) , job strain , mental stress , emotional stress , stressor , medicine , applied psychology , social psychology , clinical psychology , engineering , psychiatry , mechanical engineering
Ninety‐five white‐collar workers employed by an insurance company using visual display units (VDU) connected by telecommunication to a central computer filled in a questionnaire concerning psychosocial stressors in connection with work at the VDU. Eleven persons with extensive and ten with no work at VDUs were also studied during regular work, during breakdown of machinery, and in their leisure time. Self‐reports on mood and alertness were recorded along with blood pressure, heart rate, and excretion of adrenaline and noradrenaline. Results indicate that (1) stress and mental strain occurred in association with delayed response times in the computer system and unpredicted interruptions of system operation, (2) such a temporary interruption caused an increase of blood pressure and adrenaline excretion, (3) complaints of stress and strain were repotted mainly by data‐entry staff, (4) data‐entry groups displayed a higher level of physiological arousal during post‐work hours than a control group, and (5) that a majority of those who worked continuously at a VOU reported physical discomfort within 1.5 hours. It is concluded that stress and strain in computerized work may be counteracted at the technological and the organizational level: by reducing the duration and frequency of breakdowns, by reducing response times in the system, and by eliminating pure data‐entry tasks.