Digital Demands, Human Costs: Factors, Effects, and Coping Strategies of Technostress Among English Language University Teachers in Pakistan

Abstract

The rapid digitalisation of higher education has transformed teaching practice while introducing a distinct occupational stressor known as technostress. Although interest in this phenomenon has grown internationally, empirical evidence from Pakistani higher education, particularly among English language (EL) teachers, remains scarce. This article synthesises a doctoral study that investigated the factors, effects, and coping strategies of technostress among Pakistani university EL teachers using a pragmatic, sequential explanatory mixed-methods design. Quantitative data were collected from 189 permanent EL teachers in HEC-recognised public, private, and semi-government universities in Punjab using an adapted five-point Likert-scale questionnaire, analysed through descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, regression, and Hayes' PROCESS macro. A purposive qualitative sample of thirteen teachers with extreme survey responses was subsequently interviewed and analysed thematically using NVivo. Results show that techno-insecurity, techno-complexity, techno-overload, techno-invasion, and techno-uncertainty all significantly predict overall technostress, which in turn negatively affects job satisfaction, classroom performance, and career continuance, with a comparatively weaker effect on institutional commitment. Qualitative findings reveal that technostress is rooted less in technology itself than in unreliable infrastructure, inadequate training, and exclusion from technology decisions, while teachers cope through self-directed learning, peer support, and improvised workarounds. The study extends Technostress Theory and Person-Environment Fit Theory to a developing-country academic context and offers institutions concrete guidance on technical support, digital literacy facilitation, and participatory decision-making to sustain teacher well-being and effective digital transformation.