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2 September 2026

23 Pages

Understanding Technostress Worldwide: Scientific Growth, Thematic Clusters, and Implications for Social Sustainability and Organizational Resilience

and
1
Facultad de Educación, Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio (UAX), Avenida de la Universidad 1, 28691 Villanueva de la Cañada, Spain
2
Laboratorio de Bienestar y Comportamiento Organizacional, Universidad Central de Chile, Santiago 8330507, Chile
3
Centro de Investigación en Medicina de Altura, Universidad Arturo Prat, Santiago 8340232, Chile
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Abstract

Technostress has emerged as a central psychosocial risk in digital environments, yet existing bibliometric research provides only partial accounts of its development. This study offers an updated mapping of the global intellectual structure of technostress based on 1135 articles indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection as of October 2025. Using Price’s, Lotka’s, Bradford’s, and Zipf’s Laws, alongside co-authorship and keyword co-occurrence analyses, the study examines patterns of scientific growth, author productivity, and conceptual concentration. Results reveal exponential growth, highly unequal authorship distribution, and strong terminological concentration. Four stable thematic clusters were identified: foundational theory, workplace technostress, psychological consequences, and excessive technology use. Emerging topics, including artificial intelligence, digital stress, and information overload, indicate a shift toward broader socio-technical interpretations. Keyword networks further reveal a consistent relationship between technological overload, technostress, impaired performance, and reduced well-being. Despite its growing maturity, the field remains conceptually fragmented and lacks an integrative framework encompassing cognitive, behavioral, organizational, and AI-mediated dimensions. These findings highlight the need for interdisciplinary collaboration and interventions that address both individual capacities and contextual conditions to advance digital well-being and foster socially sustainable and resilient digital environments.

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