The influence of technostress and work life balance on Burnout among employees in the Banking sector in the Free State
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Date
2022
Authors
Akwa Nde, Agnes
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
The growing concerns from employees regarding health challenges in the workplace especially in the banking sector post-pandemic in light of burnout, technostress and work-life balance challenges demands attention. The current study examines the effects of technostress and work-life balance on burnout among employees in the banking sector. The study, which also explores relationships, draws on data gathered through a cross-sectional technique and analysed using a statistical modelling approach (covariance-based structural equation modelling). Three questionnaires (Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT), Technostress Questionnaire (TSQ), and Work-Family Conflict Scale (WAFCS) were used to collect the data. All constructs had acceptable levels of reliability, as evident from the values obtained from Cronbach’s alpha. A convenient sampling method was used to recruit respondents for the study, and the sample comprised 245 employees from organisations in the banking sector. The study arrives at various findings and suggestions. The covariance-based structural equation modelling let to the finding by establishing that the structural model was a good fit i.e., SRMR is 0.0326 < 0.05, GFI is 0.998 > 0.95 and AGFI is 0.997 > 0.95. Also, the squared multiple correlation of 0.584 indicated that the structural model explained 58.4% of the variation in burnout. Furthermore, technostress had a statistically significant positive relationship with burnout (β = 0.316). This was also the case with the relationship between work-life balance and burnout (β = 0.315; p = 0.001), and the relationship between technostress and work-life balance (β = 0.697; p = 0.001). This thesis suggests several theoretical implications. The study expands our understanding of the combined effect of technostress and work-life balance on burnout. In terms of managerial implications, the study brings to light the influence of technostress and work-life balance as contributing factors to employees’ experience of burnout. Therefore, the interactions between the various constructs (technostress, work-life balance) experienced by employees will influence the extent to which they will experience various levels of burnout in the organisation. As a result, implementing coping strategies to assist employees in the banking sector deal with issues relating to technostress and work-life balance especially post-pandemic is imperative. One of the limitations of the study is that there is not sufficient research on the combined effect of technostress and work-life balance on burnout in South Africa. Thus, a challenge when testing the model as it was difficult to compare hypothesised directions for some of the proposed paths. One of the limitations of the current study was that it focused mostly on the banking sector and used a convenience sampling method. This implies that the findings can only be generalised in the banking industry. Therefore, to have a wider understanding of the interaction between the various variables, future research should consider adopting a multi-sample or use a probability sampling method that is more representative and can permit generalisation.
Description
Dissertation (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--University of the Free State, 2022
Keywords
Burnout, technostress, work-life balance