Technology is an integral part of work for most of us, but it’s also an undeniable cause of workplace stress. So how can we avoid burnout and start trying to find balance?

Jason Bennett Thatcher holds the Tandean Rustandy Esteemed Professorship at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder and researches how the interaction of people and technology change the world we work in

Jason explains how the interaction of people and technology affects work dynamics. Maria and Jason cover different types of technostressors like techno-overload, techno-invasion, and techno-ambiguity, as well as strategies to manage these different stressors. The discussion also delves into the impact of remote work, the importance of setting boundaries, and how employers and employees can take proactive steps to mitigate stress caused by technology.

Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.

EPISODE QUOTES:

Understanding technostress and why stress affects everyone differently

[05:24] We were really interested in this core set of five variables that are looked at in technostress, like techno-invasion, techno-complexity, and whatnot, and how combinations of those led to job satisfaction and burnout. What was really cool about the study was that we found that, for every person, it's not the same. So, it's different combinations of stress that result in different outcomes for different people. And this was a really important thing, even though it's a very simple finding, right? Because what it lets you think about, as a manager, is, okay, what do I need to give my employee to manage the specific set of things that they're facing that result in them feeling more or less stressed out?

On the different types of technostressors

[02:02] There's this general idea that just all the ways the technology touches me is technostress in general. And then you have different consequences, like, you have techno-overload where technology makes me feel like I have too much going on. I have techno-invasion where I feel like the technology is letting people intrude into my life and it's causing me stress. I can have ambiguity introduced by technology. So, before, I knew what I was doing, and now I have all these competing demands placed on me, which makes me feel harder. So, this ambiguity about what I should be doing, or I may even have, like, techno-conflict where I feel like I'm getting competing demands sent to me by different people at the same time, or I have different technologies asking for different things.

What are the biggest barriers to reducing workplace stress caused by technology?

[19:43] I think one of the barriers is really establishing healthy patterns for your communication because we're habitually… this came into our lives; none of us were trained. We set up these high-speed, 24/7 cultures. We said, “Hey, go work anywhere you want to,” but the tax for that was, “Be available all the time.” We've got to change that culture. We've got to become much more mindful, a little bit slower so people can get that reflection and the release from constant pressure so that they can actually do good work. Because what we know is if you're not super busy all the time, you feel better and you do higher-quality work.

SHOW LINKS:

• Jason Bennett Thatcher | Leeds School Of Business Faculty Profile
• Jason Bennett Thatcher | LinkedIn
• Jason Bennett Thatcher | Instagram
• Mitigating technostress is not easy, but it’s doable | London School of Economics Blog
• How to fight ‘technostress’ at work | CU Boulder Today

This episode is all about attainable housing, and how innovation may be able to help first-time home buyers with new options.

Jamie Saunders is a Leeds MBA alumna and the founder of Affix Communities, a startup with a mission to create new ways for potential home buyers to become homeowners. Jamie was inspired by her sister's struggles with fluctuating income and rent increases, shifting from architecture to developing innovative, smaller homes in Colorado for people also struggling.

Jamie explains how the concept of prefabrication, creative land use, and designs that allow for short-term rental income can help make housing more affordable. This episode delves into zoning laws, the housing market, and the strategies being implemented to address the affordability crisis. Jamie also outlines what her company's future could look like, aiming to create a replicable system for developers nationwide and foster accessible homeownership.

Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.

EPISODE QUOTES:

On innovative paths Affix is taking to affordable homeownership

[19:37] One thing that we learned that was kind of mind-boggling while we were doing all of these interviews of potential homebuyers is that it came up again and again that younger folks, they're like, I would love to offset some of the cost of my mortgage by renting out a room, maybe not all the time, maybe just occasionally, maybe just on weekends, whatever works for them. But it did come up quite a bit that that's something that the younger buyer is interested in. So we listened to that, and we designed our pilot home with an area in the back that can be locked off that has its entry bedroom and a private bathroom. So that enables people to make the decision if they want; they can just lock off that area and rent it whenever they want.

How Affix is trying to create affordability in housing

[20:29] There's only two ways to make housing more affordable. The most common way that we see right now is through government subsidy. That's what people usually think of when they hear “affordable housing.” And in that scenario, a house is built, same house, same materials, same, in a lot of cases, almost the same finish quality, even. And then the government will just pay for a portion of the construction costs, which makes the end product cheaper to the consumer. That is not the way that Affix is trying to create affordability. We're trying to create naturally occurring affordability, which means that we are looking for innovative ways to build, more affordable ways to build the actual construction costs, basically. And land costs themselves are actually lower. So, we're not using any kind of government subsidy to accomplish this.

On the impact Jamie hopes to create for Affix in the coming years

[24:32] In five to 10 years, my hope is that we've created a system that can be replicated by developers across the country. And I'm really hoping that we can all work together to bring real starter homes back to America. I think, historically, homeownership has been one of the top ways that Americans have built wealth for themselves and for their families. And that's something that everyone deserves access to. I think there are a lot of developers out there who share my opinion on that. And I think if we all work together, we could really make a big difference in this.

SHOW LINKS:

• Affix Communities | Website
• Jamie Saunders | LinkedIn
• Jamie Saunders | Email Address
• Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | Leeds School of Business
• Michael A. Klump Center for Real Estate | Leeds School of Business

Our guest’s latest research is focused on how voters relate to the concepts of truth and factuality, and how personal moral values tend to drive voters more than facts.

Ethan Poskanzer is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder. Ethan studies how organizations can select and connect people to develop innovative ideas and is particularly interested in how the opportunity to innovate can be democratized and made more inclusive.

In his second appearance on the show, Ethan joins our new host Mariz Kuntz to chat about the latest paper he co-authored. We’ll dive into how moral flexibility influences political parties and challenges the efficacy of fact-checking, and ultimately shows us how across political parties, people are more similar than they are different.

Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.

EPISODE QUOTES:

How can we improve our political environment?

[16:55] In the political environment, it would be better if we tried to support candidates who we thought would conduct themselves in a way conducive to the American political system we want to see. Which I would say, frankly, it's not that easy, because I think there's always shades of these behaviors going on, but it's a new variable in my “who am I going to support?” equation.

Politicians reflect what voters reward

[17:44] As voters, I think the point of a democracy is that politicians are going to do what gets them votes, so we're going to get the things that we have demand for in the world. And so, if you say that, hey, there's too much distrust in politics, and there's too much misinformation in politics, you probably shouldn't vote for a candidate to do that because that's going to keep happening. I think this is a case where the politicians do what is rewarded by the voters, so we have the power to kind of create a political environment.

Seeking leaders who value facts over political agendas

[12:08] We see that politicians are not really penalized for saying things that aren't true. And politicians generally are going to do what gets them votes. So to an extent that we want to see this stop, the voters have to hold politicians that do this accountable and not vote for them.

SHOW LINKS:

• Ethan Poskanzer | Leeds School of Business
• Ethan Poskanzer | Personal Website
• Ethan Poskanzer | LinkedIn
• Ethan Poskanzer | Google Scholar
• When Truth Trumps Facts: Studies on Partisan Moral Flexibility in American Politics