Understanding meaningful work in the context of technostress, Covid-19, frustration, and corporate social responsibility

Bibliographic Data

ID9891790
AuthorsDarija Aleksić (0000-0002-2743-0946, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia,, corresponding author), Matej Černe (0000-0001-5049-588X, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia,, corresponding author), Saša Batistič (0000-0001-5150-1065, Tilburg University, Netherlandsm, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume77
Issue3
Pages426-451
Publication date2024-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHuman Relations (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-7267 • E-ISSN: 1741-282X
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00187267221139776
OpenAlexW4308583723
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited80

COVID-19 and digitalization represent important sources of many employees’ frustrations. In this article, we address the question of how employees can achieve meaningful work in such a challenging and frustrating context. Specifically, we investigate whether employees’ negative experiences related to technology use—that is, techno-invasion—leads to frustration and in turn reduces employee perceptions of meaningful work. In addition, we examine corporate social responsibility as a potential remedy that could mitigate these negative effects. The results of our four-wave longitudinal study of 198 working professionals collected during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic did not find support for a proposed negative direct effect of techno-invasion on meaningful work. However, we did find support that perceived corporate social responsibility moderates the indirect relationship between techno-invasion and meaningful work, mediated by frustration: for low levels of corporate social responsibility, techno-invasion results in higher levels of frustration, in turn reducing meaningful work. High levels of corporate social responsibility buffer this negative indirect effect. Implications for research and practice dealing with digitalization, meaningful work, and corporate social responsibility are discussed

Context (archaeology · Corporate social responsibility · Frustration · Perception · Political science · Public relations · Work (physics · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Psychology · Social Psychology · Technostress in Professional Settings