Impact of Techno-Stressors on the Psychological Wellbeing of Academic Staff across the Age Strata in Ugandan Public Universities

Abstract

The rapid digitalisation of higher education has intensified technology-related job demands among university academic staff, raising concerns about their psychological well-being in technology-driven work environments. This study examined the effect of techno-stressors on the psychological well-being of academic staff in Uganda’s public universities, with emphasis on the specific contribution of individual techno-stressor dimensions, and age-related differences in psychological well-being. The study adopted a quantitative research approach employing a cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected from 451 academic staff drawn from Makerere and Kabale Universities using standardised data collection instruments. Data were analysed using linear regression and one-way ANOVA. Results revealed a statistically significant negative effect of techno-stressors on psychological well-being (β = −0.345, p < .001), accounting for 11.9% of the variance. Specifically, techno-insecurity (β = −0.326, p < .001) and techno-complexity (β = −0.203, p = .002) emerged as significant negative predictors of psychological well-being, while techno-uncertainty showed a weak but significant positive effect (β = 0.209, p < .001). Meanwhile, techno-overload and techno-invasion were not significant predictors. The dimensional model explained 25.0% of the variance in psychological well-being. Furthermore, significant differences in psychological well-being were observed across age groups F (4,446) = 4.857, p = .001), with psychological wellbeing decreasing as age increased. The findings therefore demonstrate that techno-stressors significantly undermine lecturers’ psychological well-being, with older academic staff appearing more vulnerable to reduced psychological well-being in digitally intensive work environments. The study concludes that unmanaged technology-related job demands constitute a significant occupational risk factor within Uganda’s public universities. It is therefore recommended that universities adopt comprehensive, age-responsive digital support strategies, including continuous professional development, structured ICT capacity-building programmes, and institutional policies that minimise technology-related insecurity and complexity, in order to safeguard academic staff’s psychological wellbeing and ensure sustainable digital transformation in higher education