Business Administration Faculty Publications

Of Races to Be Run and Battles to Be Won: Technical Skill-updating, Stress, and Coping of IT Professionals

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 2007

Journal Title

Human Resource Management

Volume

46

Issue

3

First Page

395

Last Page

409

Abstract

The expectation on today's information technology (IT) professionals to remain technically competent constitutes a significant source of stress. We examine how IT professionals experience and cope with the threat of technical obsolescence. Interestingly, not all IT professionals consider technology change a threat to their technical competence; some viewed updating as enjoyable and pursued learning for its own sake. However, most viewed the relentless demand to update their technical skills as stressful and used a variety of coping strategies to address this threat. Using this cognitive approach to technical obsolescence, we describe implications for managerial practice and delineate a direction for future research.

Keywords

Information technology, stress, job stress, job qualifications, industrial psychology, employment

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