How IT Consumerization Affects the Stress Level at Work: A Public Sector Case Study

IT consumerization refers to the adoption of consumer technologies in an enterprise context and is becoming increasingly important in both research and practice. While there are often positive effects attributed with the trend, e.g. with respect to increased performance or motivation, not much attention has yet been given to the effects it has on stress of employees. In order to close this research gap, we conduct a qualitative single case study in the public sector. We derive four major stressors that are related to IT consumerization, i.e. 1) increased reachability, 2) lack of competence, 3) workflow changes, and 4) system redundancies. These stressors are discussed with respect to related theory concepts in IS. Moreover, they are used to derive recommendations for practitioners with respect to policy development and communication. Our paper contributes to the recent discussion on theoretical implications of IT consumerization effects.

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