Indicators of technostress, their association with burnout and the moderating role of support offers among nurses in German hospitals: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES: To examine the level of indicators of technostress among nurses with and without a leadership position, the relationship between indicators of technostress and burnout and the moderating role of support offered by employers. The availability of support offers and further needs of nurses were also explored.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional online survey.

SETTING: Acute care hospitals in Germany.

PARTICIPANTS: 303 nurses (73.3% female) who have worked at the hospital for at least 1 year and a minimum of 10 hours per week.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Indicators of technostress (complexity, overload, usefulness, lack of technical support and unreliability) served as predictors in multiple linear regression analyses to examine their association with the primary outcome burnout. Support of employers was included as a moderator variable. Validated subscales from the Digital Stressors Scale and Copenhagen Burnout Inventory as well as open-ended questions were applied.

RESULTS: There were no differences in the level of indicators of technostress found between nurses with and without a leadership position. Techno-overload (β=0.259, p=0.004) and techno-complexity (β=0.161, p=0.043) were significantly associated with burnout. Support by the employer moderated the relationship between lack of technical support and burnout significantly (R² change=0.026, F(1,292)=7.41, p=0.007). Support offers such as training, IT service and contact persons on the ward helped nurses to be more confident in the use of information and communication technologies. However, they expressed further needs with regard to these and new offers.

CONCLUSIONS: There was an association between two indicators of technostress and burnout. Therefore, particular attention should be paid to supporting nurses in terms of techno-overload and techno-complexity. Furthermore, there is still a need for customised support and further offers from employers in the use of digital technologies.