title: Information and communication technology demands at work: the association with job strain, effort-reward imbalance and self-rated health in different socio-economic strata.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The use of information and communication technology (ICT) is common in modern working life. ICT demands may give rise to experience of work-related stress. Knowledge about ICT demands in relation to other types of work-related stress and to self-rated health is limited. Consequently, the aim of this study was to examine the association between ICT demands and two types of work-related stress [job strain and effort-reward imbalance (ERI)] and to evaluate the association between these work-related stress measures and self-rated health, in general and in different SES strata.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study is based on cross-sectional data from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health collected in 2014, from 14,873 gainfully employed people. ICT demands, job strain, ERI and self-rated health were analysed as the main measures. Sex, age, SES, lifestyle factors and BMI were used as covariates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ICT demands correlated significantly with the dimensions of the job strain and ERI models, especially with the demands (r = 0.42; p < 0.01) and effort (r = 0.51; p < 0.01) dimensions. ICT demands were associated with suboptimal self-rated health, also after adjustment for age, sex, SES, lifestyle and BMI (OR 1.49 [95 % CI 1.36-1.63]), but job strain (OR 1.93 [95 % CI 1.74-2.14) and ERI (OR 2.15 [95 % CI 1.95-2.35]) showed somewhat stronger associations with suboptimal self-rated health.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ICT demands are common among people with intermediate and high SES and associated with job strain, ERI and suboptimal self-rated health. ICT demands should thus be acknowledged as a potential stressor of work-related stress in modern working life.
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University, P.O. Box 1026, 551 11, Jönköping, Sweden. magdalena.stadin@ju.se.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stadin
authors.affiliation: Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.|Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nordin
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University, P.O. Box 1026, 551 11, Jönköping, Sweden.|Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Linköping University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Broström
authors.affiliation: Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Linda L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Magnusson Hanson
authors.affiliation: Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Westerlund
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University, P.O. Box 1026, 551 11, Jönköping, Sweden.|Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.|Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Eleonor I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Fransson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003146:Communications Media / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D012201:Reward; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D013548:Sweden; D013672:Technology; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology*; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Effort-reward imbalance; ICT demands; Job strain; Self-rated health; Socio-economic status