Technology-induced Strain from Team Communication Platforms: Empirical Evidence for Working from Home

Working from home (WFH) has recently become a widespread form of workplace transformation. Here, digital team communication platforms (TCP), like Microsoft Teams or Slack, have essential value for enabling WFH at a large scale. However, TCPs facilitate permanent availability and distractions, indicating stress potential for employees, particularly when WFH. Therefore, this study examines the occurrence of TCP-generated technostress and its drivers in the WFH environment. Based on the Transaction-Based Stress Theory and technostress literature, we developed a research model with perceived strain as the outcome variable, shaped by TCP technology characteristics and established stressors. To validate the proposed model, we conducted a survey with 503 participants who have worked with TCP from home. Structural equation modelling revealed a variance explained of R2=.573 2 =.573 for perceived strain from TCP. We confirmed the TCP technology characteristics of mobility, interruption, and usefulness to correlate with the stressors of work-home conflict, work overload, and role ambiguity. These stressors, in turn, significantly shaped the outcome variable perceived strain. Furthermore, we found the ability to mentally detach from work to have a buffering moderator effect on the impact of stressor role ambiguity. Correspondingly, we provide implications for theory and practice on how TCP could be implemented with the goal of reducing harm to employee well-being.