Antecedents and consequences of technology appraisal: A person-centered approach.

Abstract

In line with the recent literature, the aim of this article is to adopt a psychological approach to understand how technology is subjectively perceived and experienced at work, where the use of technology is seldom an individual choice, as well as its effects on employee's well-being. This study aims to adopt a person-centered approach to create clusters of technology appraisal, explain such clusters' membership through sociodemographics, and use these clusters to predict work-related well-being outcomes. In a sample of 692 Swiss working adults (M age = 39.56, SD = 12.45, 60% female) active in both private and public sectors, this study first analyzed clusters of technology appraisal taking into account perceived usefulness, ease to use, and limitation of autonomy using a TwoStep cluster analysis. Then, these clusters' membership was predicted by sociodemographic and individual characteristics (i.e., age, sex, education level, and generalized self-efficacy) using a multinomial logistic regression. Finally, differences in burnout, work engagement, and job boredom between clusters were examined using analyses of variance. Three different clusters of technology appraisal were found: The Tech-Enthusiasts, the Tech-Ambivalents, and the Tech-Detractors. Age, sex, educational level, and self-efficacy predicted clusters' membership. Differences in burnout and work engagement were found between the clusters. No difference was found in boredom between the clusters. These findings highlight the importance of developing relevant and inclusive interventions to promote well-being and equality at work.

Technology, work, and inequality.

“…Wickert et al (2020, p. 2) describe impactful research as research that shapes the thinking, behaviors, and practices of individuals, organizations, and/or social systems. Consistent with the goals of policy-relevant impactful research (Wickert et al, 2020), the special collection articles provide insights that (a) educate and caution practitioners and policymakers (Auer et al, 2022;Pitcher et al, 2022;Shoss & Ciarlante, 2022), (b) provide recommendations for expenditurebased instruments (Burch et al, 2022;Toscanelli et al, 2022), and (c) suggest goals for regulation (Pitcher et al, 2022). Table 1 highlights policy-relevant excerpts from each article.…”

“…In a sample of Swiss workers across industries, Toscanelli et al (2022) found three profiles characterized participants' experience with technology at work: "Tech-Enthusiasts" experienced technology as easy to use, useful, and not autonomy reducing; "Tech-Ambivalents" experienced technology as easy to use and useful, but indicated that the technology reduced their autonomy; and "Tech-Detractors" experienced technology as neither useful or easy and experienced autonomy reductions. They found that individual differences, including age, gender, and education, were related to membership in each cluster, suggesting that the nature of technologies people are exposed to at work may be a mechanism further accentuating inequalities in working conditions across demographic groups.…”