Tech training can exacerbate employee burnout: Canadian study
Training intensified burnout’s effects
Testing three possible buffers against burnout’s impact, Adeniyi found only technological training produced a statistically significant effect, and it moved in the opposite direction than expected.
“Contrary to expectations, the results revealed that technological training exacerbated, rather than buffered, the negative relationship between burnout and perceived work ability,” Adeniyi wrote, adding that training “may place additional cognitive or emotional strain on already exhausted older workers, particularly if it is poorly timed, overly complex, or misaligned with their needs.”
Neither organizational justice nor computer self-efficacy showed a statistically significant moderating effect in the model, according to the dissertation.
Adeniyi recommended organizations treat training “not as a one-size-fits-all solution, but as an intervention that requires thoughtful design and delivery,” pointing to self-paced modules, peer support models, and involving older workers in co-designing training content as alternatives. “Creating a culture that values supportive, inclusive, and user-informed training is essential,” Adeniyi wrote.
Best practices for training older workers
Here are some of the best practices around providing tech training for older workers, according to different sources:
