TECHNOSTRESS AND EMPLOYEE VIGOR: EVIDENCE FROM TELECOMMUNICATION FIRMS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between technostress and employee vigor among employees of telecommunication firms in Rivers State, Nigeria. The increasing use of digital technologies and technology-enabled work processes has enhanced organisational efficiency but also intensified technology-related stress, affecting employees' energy and psychological well-being. Technostress was examined using techno-overload and techno-invasion, while employee vigor was measured using energy at work and mental resilience. The study was anchored on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Theory and adopted a correlational research design. The population comprised 380 employees from four selected telecommunication firms in Rivers State, Nigeria, and a sample size of 181 was determined using the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) sample size determination table. A total of 181 questionnaires were distributed (100.00%), 173 (95.58%) were retrieved, 8 (4.42%) were not returned, no questionnaire was invalid (0.00%), and 173 (95.58%) questionnaires were used for the final analysis. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that techno-overload had strong negative and significant relationships with energy at work (r = -0.746, p < 0.05) and mental resilience (r = -0.718, p < 0.05). Similarly, techno-invasion had strong negative and significant relationships with energy at work (r = -0.731, p < 0.05) and mental resilience (r = -0.764, p < 0.05). The study concludes that technostress significantly undermines employee vigor and recommends reducing technology-induced workload, promoting healthy work-life boundaries, providing digital competence and stress management training, and integrating employee well-being initiatives into human resource policies.