Teaching English in the Age of Screens: Technostress, Digital Fatigue, and Occupational Well-Being Among ELT Instructors
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26817/16925777.2114Keywords:
Digital fatigue, Techno-stress, Occupational well-being, ELT instructors, Educational technology, Higher EducationAbstract
This study examines the relationships among technostress, digital fatigue, and occupational well-being among English Language Teaching (ELT) instructors, while examining the predictive role of technostress. The sample for this study included 472 ELT instructors working at public and foundation universities, as well as language institutes, across Türkiye. The participants completed three validated surveys: the Tripartite Occupational Well-Being Scale, which assesses subjective vitality, behavioral engagement, and professional growth; the Digital Fatigue Scale, which assesses the psychological and physical components of digital fatigue; and the Technostress Scale, which aims to assess the use of digital tools, institutional expectations, and the constant restructuring of technology. The findings indicated that the degree to which instructors experience technostress is a significant predictor of higher levels of digital fatigue, and that digital fatigue has a strong negative predictive role for occupational well-being. In addition, mediation analysis revealed that digital fatigue mediated the negative relationship between technostress and occupational well-being, indicating that higher technostress was associated with greater digital fatigue and, consequently, lower occupational well-being. Taken together, these data highlight the urgent need for institutions to provide targeted support through professional development opportunities, digital well-being policies, and more sustainable approaches to technology use in ELT settings.
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