Assessing the effect of technostress on students’ academic productivity in selected university in Central Region

Abstract

In the first quarter of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic struck numerous countries around the world, including Ghana. To prevent the virus from spreading, the Ghanaian government ordered universities to close, although most had only recently begun the academic year. Despite its benefits for both students and academic faculty, the use of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) had negative consequences, such as technostress. The study examined the effect of technostress on students’ academic productivity in UEW during the COVID-19 pandemic. The descriptive correlational study method was used to discern the prevalence of technology-induced stress among university students in UEW. 385 respondents participated in the study, and they were recruited using the non-probability convenience sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data. SPSS and SmartPLS software were used to analyze the data. The study found technostress to be prevalent among students of UEW, but the level was moderate. Also, based on the demographic characteristics, results showed that students experienced the same levels of technostress. Finally, Technostress was found to have no negative impact on students’ academic productivity. In conclusion, the study recommended that the university should take a keen interest in finding students who may be severely stressed because of ICT, and help them improve their ICT skills so that technostress and its effects can be reduced to its barest minimum among students.