The Relationship between ICT Use and Employee Job Satisfaction

How proper ICT use can help boost employee productivity

The digital revolution in the 1990s changed the world as we knew it. Ever since, our societies have been put in a constant cycle of reinventing ways and technologies we use in interacting with each other and our surroundings.
Nowadays, personal computers, internet connectivity, and mobile technology are ubiquitous around the world. The use of these technologies has completely revolutionized the workplace and has helped to boost employees’ productivity. Similarly, it has enabled new opportunities like the ability for employees to work offsite or from home which has facilitated access to ever-growing networks of knowledge with the help of cutting-edge communication tools and software.
The use of ICT in the modern world is no more a luxury but a necessity. To value its importance, we just need to look how people around the world can continue to work from home as part of the social distancing efforts to curtail the spread of COVID-19 (Corona Virus).
While the ICT revolution has done wonders for the workplace, it is highly important to stay focused on the human dimension too. Therefore, it must be ensured that workplace technology is also used to enhance employee experience and help create a healthy work-life balance.
To explore how ICT use can help maintain this balance while increasing employee productivity, a group of undergraduate student researchers from Qatar University, led by Dr. Shatha M. Obeidat and Dr. Allam Abu Farha, conducted a research project titled, ‘The Relationship Between ICT use and Employees` Job satisfaction, Work-Life Balance, Personal Burnout, and Intention to Leave: An Exploratory Study in the Higher Education sector in Qatar’ (Project ID: UREP22-098-5-023).
The research team received funding under QNRF’s Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) which helps develop the research skills of students and gives them valuable exposure. Commenting further on this, Dr. Obeidat said, “It was a nice experience for me. I dealt with highly dedicated undergraduate students, who constantly showed their willingness to learn and their enthusiasm towards the full completion of the project, as well as learning a lot about how to conduct a research project.”
During the project, the research team set its main aim to develop a comprehensive model that examines the effect of after working-hours emails on different aspects of employee-related outcomes. To develop this model, the team investigated the effects of ICT demand on the ICT use, and the effect of ICT use on four employee‐related outcomes.
After developing this new model, the research team effectively tested it using survey methodology with a pool of 87 academic and non-academic staff working at Qatar University and recorded their responses.
These responses were analyzed using the partial least squares (PLS) approach, a method of structural equation modeling which allows the estimation of complex cause-effect relationship models.
The results showed that ICT use has a direct effect on the four employee‐related outcomes which are: Job Satisfaction, Work-Life Balance, Personal Burnout, and Intention to Leave.
These results can be used to guide decision makers in higher education in setting appropriate strategies, rules, and regulations regarding appropriate use of IT by academic and non-academic staff. Moreover, the model developed in this project can be used in other industries and sectors as well to help optimize ICT use in the workplace to achieve and maintain healthy employee satisfaction and productivity levels.
In recognition of their work, the student researchers received an opportunity to present their research findings at an international conference organized by the Academy for Global Business Administration where they won the ‘Junior Researcher Award’.