IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Sep 2023

Distress Coping Responses Among Teleworkers

Bao Duong Appalachian State University ; Jaeung Lee Louisiana Tech University ; Craig Van Slyke Louisiana Tech University ; T. Selwyn Ellis Louisiana Tech University

Abstract

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Background:</b> During the COVID-19 pandemic, the popularity of teleworking has risen. Telework seems poised to remain popular even after the pandemic fades away. As a result, it is important to understand the humanistic effects of telework such as distress, coping responses, and related effects. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Literature review:</b> Uncertainties related to telework can lead to distress. When this occurs, teleworkers may employ a variety of coping responses, which vary across several important dimensions. These coping responses vary in the extent to which they affect telework outcomes. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research questions:</b> 1. What strategies do teleworkers use for dealing with telework distress? 2. How are various coping strategies related to humanistic telework outcomes? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Methodology:</b> Data from a survey of 504 American teleworkers were used to test a theoretical model. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results:</b> Results suggest that teleworkers cope with telework distress through assistance seeking, technology experimentation, venting, and negative and positive emotions. Coping responses had differential effects on telework exhaustion and satisfaction, with negative and positive emotions and venting affecting exhaustion, and assistance seeking, task experimentation, emotions, and venting affecting satisfaction. Distress had a direct effect on exhaustion, but not on satisfaction. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusion:</b> The effects of emotion-focused coping on telework satisfaction and exhaustion are notably stronger than those of problem-focused coping responses. Emotion-focused coping responses that are adaptive have beneficial effects, while those that are maladaptive have detrimental effects. Adaptive problem-focused responses have similar effects. The extent of communication focus does not seem to affect the impact of coping responses on outcomes.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2023-09-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2023.3290927
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
affect and writing
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (108) · 18 in this index

  1. 10.1177/2329488415589101
     ↗
  2. 10.1037/ocp0000056
     ↗
  3. Weimann et al. (2013)
    Enhancing Team Performance Through Tool Use: How Critical Technology-Related Is…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. 10.1177/0149206304271768
     ↗
  5. 10.1037/apl0000906
     ↗
Show all 108 →
  1. 10.1097/JOM.0000000000001132
     ↗
  2. 10.1037/a0032141
     ↗
  3. 10.1108/INTR-07-2021-0499
     ↗
  4. 10.2307/25148778
     ↗
  5. 10.2307/3250982
     ↗
  6. 10.1037/0021-9010.81.2.123
     ↗
  7. 10.4135/9781452231235
     ↗
  8. thomas (1995)
    The role of burnout on organizational attachment and career mobility
    Work Stress Health
  9. 10.1002/job.4030090402
     ↗
  10. Kock et al. (2012)
    Research Article Electronic Media Variety and Virtual Team Performance: The Med…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  11. Fuller et al. (2016)
    Longitudinal Effects of Computer-Mediated Communication Anxiety on Interaction …
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  12. lazarus (1966)
    Psychological stress and the coping process
  13. fosslien (2020)
    How to combat zoom fatigue
    Harvard Bus Rev
  14. lazarus (1999)
    Stress and Emotion A New Synthesis
  15. Turetken et al. (2011)
    An Empirical Investigation of the Impact of Individual and Work Characteristics…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  16. 10.1097/00006842-199305000-00002
     ↗
  17. Johnson-Eilola (1996)
    Relocating the Value of Work: Technical Communication in a Post-Industrial Age
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  18. 10.1111/j.1468-2958.1975.tb00258.x
     ↗
  19. 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2001.tb02891.x
     ↗
  20. lazarus (1984)
    Stress Appraisal and Coping
  21. 10.1287/isre.2015.0612
     ↗
  22. 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(199709)18:5<491::AID-JOB804>3.0.CO;2-I
     ↗
  23. 10.2753/MIS0742-1222310210
     ↗
  24. 10.25300/MISQ/2019/13747
     ↗
  25. 10.1037/0021-9010.92.6.1524
     ↗
  26. 10.1037/apl0000913
     ↗
  27. 10.1111/j.1468-005X.2012.00284.x
     ↗
  28. 10.1016/j.jvb.2006.02.003
     ↗
  29. 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1995.tb01587.x
     ↗
  30. 10.1016/j.telpol.2019.101868
     ↗
  31. 10.25300/MISQ/2018/11914
     ↗
  32. 10.4324/9781410609854
     ↗
  33. 10.1080/08824090600962516
     ↗
  34. 10.25300/MISQ/2018/11914
     ↗
  35. 10.4018/978-1-878289-79-7.ch010
     ↗
  36. 10.1145/330534.330554
     ↗
  37. 10.1016/j.telpol.2013.12.006
     ↗
  38. 10.1177/0018726709349198
     ↗
  39. 10.1177/2329488420953188
     ↗
  40. 10.1080/00909882.2010.513998
     ↗
  41. 10.1080/1359432X.2018.1541886
     ↗
  42. 10.4018/IRMJ.291526
     ↗
  43. 10.1108/IJM-07-2017-0172
     ↗
  44. 10.1007/s12599-022-00758-8
     ↗
  45. Spinuzzi (2007)
    Guest Editor's Introduction: Technical Communication in the Age of Distributed Work
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  46. Scott et al. (1999)
    Communication technology use and multiple workplace identifications among organ…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  47. rice-bailey (2014)
    Remote technical communicators: Accessing audiences and working on project teams
    Tech Commun
  48. Pigg (2014)
    Coordinating Constant Invention: Social Media's Role in Distributed Work
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  49. boles (1997)
    Role stress, work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion: Inter-relationships and effec…
    J Pers Selling Sales Manage
  50. 10.1287/mnsc.1060.0597
     ↗
  51. Harrington et al. (1999)
    Telecommuting: a test of trust, competing values, and relative advantage
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  52. 10.1080/10696679.2016.1130563
     ↗
  53. 10.1016/S0378-7206(98)00091-3
     ↗
  54. 10.1037/0021-9010.88.1.160
     ↗
  55. Paul et al. (2021)
    The Moderating Effect of Virtuality on Team Trust and Effectiveness
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  56. McMullin et al. (2021)
    Constructive Distributed Work: An Integrated Approach to Sustainable Collaborat…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  57. Randazzo (2022)
    Bodies of Proof: COVID-19 and Unwitnessed Remote Work
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  58. Varhelahti et al. (2021)
    Diversity and Communication in Virtual Project Teams
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  59. 10.1037/0021-9010.86.1.114
     ↗
  60. hair (2017)
    Advanced Issues in Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM)
  61. 10.1177/1094428114560023
     ↗
  62. miller (2008)
    Academic entitlement: Adapting the equity preference questionnaire for a university setting
  63. 10.2307/3151312
     ↗
  64. Lowry et al. (2014)
    Partial Least Squares (PLS) Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) for Building and…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  65. 10.2307/23044042
     ↗
  66. chin (1998)
    Commentary: Issues and opinion on structural equation modeling
    MIS Quart
  67. Mann (1998)
    Achieving frontline communication excellence: the potential cost to health
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  68. hair (2017)
    A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling
  69. 10.17705/1CAIS.00407
     ↗
  70. 10.1037/0022-3514.91.4.730
     ↗
  71. 10.4337/9781845423308.00009
     ↗
  72. Sano-Franchini et al. (2023)
    Slack, Social Justice, and Online Technical Communication Pedagogy
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  73. 10.25300/MISQ/2019/14360
     ↗
  74. schmitz (2010)
    Exploring technology and task adaptation among individual users of mobile technology
    Proc Int Conf Inf Syst
  75. 10.1287/isre.1070.0122
     ↗
  76. 10.2307/41409963
     ↗
  77. 10.1111/1467-9280.00431
     ↗
  78. 10.1371/journal.pone.0142390
     ↗
  79. 10.2307/2136404
     ↗
  80. 10.1037/0021-9010.90.4.792
     ↗
  81. 10.1037/a0016752
     ↗
  82. 10.2307/25148693
     ↗
  83. 10.2307/25148857
     ↗
  84. 10.1002/0470013494.ch25
     ↗
  85. 10.5465/amj.2005.18803921
     ↗
  86. 10.1287/isre.2016.0680
     ↗
  87. 10.1037/0021-9010.92.2.438
     ↗
  88. 10.1080/10580530.2020.1820632
     ↗
  89. 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102186
     ↗
  90. 10.1146/annurev.ps.44.020193.000245
     ↗
  91. 10.2307/25750701
     ↗
  92. 10.1002/per.2410010304
     ↗
  93. 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2001.tb02892.x
     ↗
  94. 10.1016/j.jrp.2008.12.008
     ↗
  95. 10.1016/j.chb.2016.12.041
     ↗
  96. 10.1287/isre.2019.0860
     ↗
  97. 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2007.00318.x
     ↗
  98. 10.1108/IntR-06-2015-0181
     ↗
  99. DuFrene et al. (2014)
    Navigating Change: Employee Communication in Times of Instability
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  100. mcgrath (1976)
    Stress and behavior in organizations
    Handbook of Organizational Psychology
  101. Han et al. (2011)
    Does Medium Matter? A Comparison of Initial Meeting Modes for Virtual Teams
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  102. 10.1177/1529100615593273
     ↗
  103. 10.1007/BF01126709
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 3 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Mar 2026
    Terms of Service and Community Guidelines as “Value-Laden” Documents: An (Adapted) Corpus-Assisted Discourse Analysis of “Sexual Content” ↗
    Rachael Jordan
    discourse analysis social media affect and writing
  2. Written Communication Feb 2026
    Rhetoric and Affect: The Role of Faith in Student Writers’ Wayfinding ↗
    Amy D. Williams; Jonathan Ostenson
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis empirical research affect and writing
  3. Argumentation Feb 2026
    When Emmanuel Macron Goes Social: Using Social Media Influencers as a Rhetorical Strategy ↗
    Keren Sadoun-Kerber
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument collaborative writing social media affect and writing
  4. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Jan 2026
    Assessing Soft Skills Requirement in Entry-Level Career Success in the Malaysian Logistics Industry ↗
    Jessica Hai Liaw Ong; Priy Brat Dwivedi
    service learning affect and writing
  5. Pedagogy Jan 2026
    Contributors ↗
    rhetorical criticism genre theory writing pedagogy graduate education two-year college teacher development social media race and writing gender and writing affect and writing literary studies editorial matter