Exploring Techno-Invasion and Work-Life Balance on Digital Platforms: A Preliminary Study with Amazon MTurk's Gig Workers

The rapid advances in technology and COVID-19 lockdown measures transformed the way of working and paved the way for the rise of digital platform work. Although potentially expanding employment opportunities and introducing many beneficial aspects, digital platform work is also associated with exposure to stress due to various factors. Technostress is one such area of concern for platform workers. This preliminary study focuses on a single technostressor, techno-invasion, which refers to the perceived intrusion of technology into personal life, and investigates the impact of techno-invasion on the work-life balance of digital platform workers. Testing six hypotheses, the research surveyed 30 Amazon MTurk workers to measure techno-invasion and work-life balance. The results reveal a significant positive linear relationship between techno-invasion and work interference with personal life, indicating that greater perceived intrusion of technology leads to lower work-life balance. Additionally, female workers experience higher levels of techno-invasion compared to their male counterparts, potentially due to additional caregiving responsibilities. Acknowledging limitations due to the small sample size drawn solely from Amazon MTurk, the preliminary study suggests that digital platforms should implement measures to reduce techno-invasion, such as offering training and support to enhance workers' digital literacy as well as actively seeking feedback from platform workers.