How to deal with technical stress in business?

You can open your email address every morning and you will find many emails that you have not read: it is early in the morning and you are already stressed. More broadly, you must constantly learn to use new software and applications. You should always be ready to answer questions from your subordinates and superiors. You are always traveling with your computer and you need to sync it with your office terminal.

All of these signs indicate that you are particularly prone to techno-stress. How do you protect yourself from it? Our Study Qualitatively through interviews with employees conducted in 2019, this technology-led reduction in a team and protecting the environment has led us to adopt the typology of solutions, without compromising commitment. Job.

Mutual aid strategy : The first solution is mutual aid, which is especially useful in the field of information system. This mutual aid allows the group as a whole to maintain communication and gain mastery and usability of the system. One of the managers in our study testified to this:

“If a coworker can’t get a grip on the new software, I can help him without a problem. Time and availability are the only things that come into play. “

Conflict resolution strategy : It identifies problems, seeks solutions, establishes consensus and problem-solving approach, as well as participatory management. An interviewer explains in favor of this solution:

“Every time one of my subordinates or one of my co-workers tells me about a problem, I try to figure out the cause of the stress. Is it a difference in capabilities in the face of problems and technical overload, or in the face of some environmental changes in the organization in general? I will try to assess the level of these difficulties and the changes brought about by the new technologies. “

Bureaucratic adaptation strategy : It is showing initiative and not procedural. The person wants to be active here and he will not hesitate to provide solutions to the problems he is facing. As shown in one of the testimonials:

“We do not want (hierarchical) power to be arbitrary. We need control, however, control at the same time with a certain liberty. Things will come out. “

A strategy of perceived contribution to performance : Managers review the performance of each subordinate on their team and those who make a better contribution to the overall performance have a higher position on the team than those with a lower score. For example, an interviewer told us the following:

“My manager gave me more responsibilities because, thanks to me, the teams started communicating better, I was a very good subject, and we should continue in this direction.”

A strategy that affects : It depends on the interactions between the managers and their subordinates of an effective nature. This allows for empathy within the group, reducing stress. The employee we interviewed for details:

“My manager understands my problems and needs. I trust him to help me when I’m in trouble, that’s telling me when I really need it. We’re not only in a hierarchical relationship, we’re in a friendly relationship.”

Professional development strategy : Improving relationships within a group depends on an understanding of the image and quality of work of other members of the team. As explained to us in the interview, there is a positive focus on reducing tensions in the group, but warns that this value does not necessarily need to be considered financially:

“Rewards have less impact if the work is done alone and less and less contact with management. So on that side, I think there is no valuation.”

The strategy of mutual trust : Team members trust each other because they know each other’s skills, and everyone is trusted. This trust is a source of greater convenience in the performance of the group, although it is limited in practice, as one manager explained to us:

“We work with co-workers, so there is competition, but there is still confidence in file processing in general, which allows us to maintain a good work environment.”

Finally, note that it is necessary to apply these different strategies with measurement and scale according to the importance of the pressure.

Finally, it should be noted that our study shows that in order for these strategies to be effective, they must be developed with the participation of teams. In other words, managers should try to increase the quality of exchanges with their employees. Reducing techno-stress by reducing the quality of these exchanges can be counterproductive in any case.