Data_Sheet_1_The Digital Stressors Scale: Development and Validation of a New Survey Instrument to Measure Digital Stress Perceptions in the Workplace Context.docx

This article reports on the development of an instrument to measure the perceived stress that results from the use and ubiquity of digital technology in the workplace. Based upon a contemporary understanding of stress and a set of stressors that is a substantial update to existing scales, the Digital Stressors Scale (DSS) advances the measurement of digital stress. Initially, 138 items were constructed for the instrument and grouped into a set of 15 digital stressors. Based on a sample of N = 1,998 online questionnaires completed by individuals representative of the US employed population, the scale was refined using exploratory factor analyses (EFA) and PLS-SEM. The resulting and final scale consists of ten stressor categories reflective of one higher-order construct and a total of 50 items. Through a nomological network that includes important outcome variables of digital stress (emotional exhaustion, innovation climate, job satisfaction, user satisfaction) it was then demonstrated that the DSS provides substantial explanatory power, particularly related to emotional exhaustion and user satisfaction. Thus, the DSS constitutes a state-of-the-art self-report instrument to measure the extent of distress appraisal related to digital technologies in the workplace and helps to explain further how and why information and communication technologies can lead to adverse outcomes in individuals, thereby providing the starting point for job related organizational interventions.

本研究报道了一款用于测量职场数字技术使用与普及所引发的感知压力的测评工具的开发历程。基于当下对压力的学术认知框架，以及对现有量表进行大幅更新后的压力源集合，数字压力源量表（Digital Stressors Scale, DSS）推动了数字压力测评领域的发展。研究初期共生成138道测评题目，并将其归类为15类数字压力源。基于代表美国就业人口群体的1998份有效在线问卷样本，研究通过探索性因素分析（Exploratory Factor Analysis, EFA）与偏最小二乘结构方程模型（Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling, PLS-SEM）对初始量表进行了优化与精简。最终定型的量表包含10类压力源，对应一个高阶构念，总计50道测评题目。通过构建涵盖数字压力核心结果变量（情绪衰竭、创新氛围、工作满意度、用户满意度）的法则网络，研究证实DSS具备显著的解释效力，尤其在预测情绪衰竭与用户满意度方面表现优异。综上，DSS是一款前沿的自陈式测评工具，可用于量化职场中数字技术相关的压力评估程度，并进一步阐释信息与通信技术为何以及如何对个体产生消极影响，从而为职场相关的组织干预研究提供了重要起点。