Drawbacks are emerging from the use of new technology which, when used daily, is causing stress and ill health, a conference on work stress was told yesterday.
Some of the problems outlined included: employees accessing pornographic websites during work and using employers' time to sexually harass co-workers using this material; information overload; older workers finding it difficult to adapt to new technology; technology-related anger; VDU safety; repetitive strain injury (RSI) and aspects of the use of mobile phones.
Mr Maurice Quinlan, director of the Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) Institute, at its annual conference in Dublin, said many of the remarkable advances in Irish business and society would not have been possible without the great technological progress of recent years and the willingness of the Irish workforce to acquire the necessary skills.
However, downsides were emerging from the use of technology which were causing stress and ill health. For employers there was a duty of care under the Health and Safety Act 1989 to prevent such problems.
"And the Employment Equality Act of 1998 defines sexual harassment for the first time. Employees using offensive material as a means of harassment of co-workers may lead to the employer being held responsible under the vicarious liability section of this act," Mr Quinlan said.
He also highlighted the use of mobile phones. First, there was the intrusion of personal time with employees being contactable outside office hours. There was also the constant flow of information, and the safety aspect when walking or driving. Sensible use would capitalise on the asset of mobile technology and help to manage the working day more effectively.
Another speaker, Mr Bernard Harbor, information officer with IMPACT, said there was plenty of evidence to suggest the increasing pace at which new technologies were introduced, the expectations that accompanied them and the organisational structures that grew up around them, had emerged as important potential and actual causes of stress.
"No sooner have we mastered one technology than another comes along. This puts organisations and individuals under constant pressure to learn, invest and adapt. And for trade unions, human resource managers and health and safety specialists, it has brought a rapid succession of actual and potential hazards to deal with," he said.
Technology itself could not cause stress in the workplace. However, poor understanding of the potential and limitations of specific technologies and poor management of their introduction could cause stress while undermining the effectiveness of innovation, Mr Harbor said.
Failure to consider the organisational and human culture into which new technologies were being introduced could cause stress, anxiety and failure.
Sensible proactive management of the introduction of technologies and of the expectations around them was an essential element of technology-related stress management, both for organisations and individuals.
Mr Jim Trueick , director, A & L Goodbody, solicitors, warned of the unguarded use of e-mail which became a permanent record and which could expose the employer to civil or criminal liability.
He also advised: "Never send strictly confidential messages. Sending messages by e-mail or on the net is equated to the sending of a postcard."
A policy should be implemented to educate employees to the risk of e-mail and put in place a comprehensive and enforced email policy, he said.