Technostress and Remote Work: Understanding Underlying Factors of Role Ambiguity

Fernanda Francielle de Oliveira Malaquias; Rodrigo Fernandes Malaquias; Renato César de Souza Júnior

doi:10.4067/S0718-27242025000100027

Authors

Fernanda Francielle de Oliveira Malaquias Federal University of Uberlândia
Rodrigo Fernandes Malaquias Fundação Getulio Vargas, Brazil. & Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Brazil. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7126-1051
Renato César de Souza Júnior Federal University of Uberlândia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-27242025000100027

Keywords:

Remote work, Self-Efficacy, Covid-19, Resilience, Technostress

Abstract

Considering the possible impacts of technostress on individuals and organizations and the remote work regime imposed on education employees during the pandemic that intensified the use of technologies, the aim of this paper was to analyze underlying factors related to role ambiguity, their effects and forms of mitigation. The final sample is comprised of 691 complete responses. The data were collected electronically between August, 2021 and November, 2021. To test the study hypotheses, we adopted the Structural Equation Modeling. According to the main results, Computer Self-Efficacy can mitigate the effects of Role Ambiguity and, indirectly, Computer Self-Efficacy also has a negative effect on Cognitive Load. We also observed that Role Ambiguity presented a positive effect on Cognitive Load. The variable Resilience moderated the relationships: i) between Computer Self-Efficacy and Role Ambiguity; and ii) between Role Ambiguity and Cognitive Load.

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Author Biographies

Fernanda Francielle de Oliveira Malaquias, Federal University of Uberlândia

Fernanda Francielle de Oliveira Malaquias is Full Time Professor the Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil. In 2015, she was a Visiting Research Scholar at DePaul University in Chicago, USA. In 2012, she received her PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Uberlândia. She also holds a maters’ degree in Computer Science. She has published articles in referred journals including Information Technology & People, Computers in Human Behavior, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, Information Technology for Development, Technology and Disability, Information Development, Online Information Review, Energy Research & Social Science, and Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory.

Rodrigo Fernandes Malaquias, Fundação Getulio Vargas, Brazil. & Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Brazil.

Rodrigo Fernandes Malaquias: He is a Full Time Professor at Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU), Brazil. In 2012, he received his PhD in Business Administration from FGV-EAESP, Brazil. In 2015, he was a Visiting Research Scholar at DePaul University in Chicago, USA, where he developed his first pos-doc research. Currently (2016/2017), he is developing his pos-doc research at FGV-EAESP. His papers have been published or accepted for publication by peer-reviewed journals, including Research in International Business and Finance, Computers in Human Behavior, Accounting & Finance Review (USP), Information Development, Information Technology for Development, Technology and Disability, Brazilian Review of Finance, Brazilian Business Review, Journal of Operations and Supply Chain Management, TOJDE, among others.

Renato César de Souza Júnior, Federal University of Uberlândia

Renato César de Souza Júnior holds a PhD in Business Administration from the Federal University of Uberlândia. He holds a bachelor degree in Economic Sciences from the Federal University of Uberlândia (2012) and a bachelor degree in Administration from the Escola Superior Aberta do Brasil (2021). He also holds a masters’ degree in Public Administration from the Federal University of Uberlândia (2018). His main areas of interest are Information and Communication Technologies allied to Management, People Management and Public Administration.

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