Operational Responsiveness and Technostress in Instant Messaging: Evaluating Field Communication Efficiency and Digital Governance Needs
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Abstract
This study investigates workplace communication dynamics and operational friction resulting from WhatsApp reliance among field cleaning staff at PT Megah Resik Selaras, operating within RS Bhayangkara Mayang Mangurai Jambi. Although instant messaging accelerates operational responsiveness, the absence of digital governance introduces information overload, message burial, and work-life boundary blurring. Integrating Marshall McLuhan’s media theory ("cool medium") with Boundary Theory and the Stressor–Strain–Outcome model, this qualitative embedded single-case study evaluated field coordination practices. Primary data were gathered through in-depth interviews with five key informants, six weeks of passive group chat observation, and archival documentation, followed by thematic analysis. Findings reveal that WhatsApp functions as a dynamic multimodal tool—utilizing time-stamped photos and voice notes, to bypass literacy barriers and streamline shift handovers. However, unstructured messaging routinely buries critical emergency sanitization directives, triggering operational delays and inducing technostress from constant availability expectations. Consequently, instant messaging alone is structurally unsuited for formal archiving. To retain operational speed without compromising worker well-being, organizations must implement formal WhatsApp Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), enforce digital communication ethics, and migrate historical compliance records to structured archival platforms.
Penelitian ini mengkaji dinamika komunikasi kerja dan friksi operasional akibat ketergantungan pada WhatsApp di kalangan petugas cleaning service lapangan PT Megah Resik Selaras di RS Bhayangkara Mayang Mangurai Jambi. Meskipun pesan instan mempercepat responsivitas operasional, ketiadaan tata kelola digital memicu kelebihan informasi (information overload), tertimbunnya pesan, dan pengaburan batas kerja-kehidupan pribadi. Mengintegrasikan teori media Marshall McLuhan (cool medium), Boundary Theory, dan model Stressor–Strain–Outcome, studi kasus tunggal tersemat (embedded single-case study) kualitatif ini mengevaluasi praktik koordinasi lapangan. Data primer dikumpulkan melalui wawancara mendalam dengan lima informan kunci, enam minggu observasi pasif pada grup obrolan, dan dokumentasi arsip, yang dilanjutkan dengan analisis tematik. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa WhatsApp berfungsi sebagai media multimodal dinamis—menggunakan foto berstempel waktu dan pesan suara—untuk mengatasi hambatan literasi serta mempermudah operan shift. Namun, pesan tidak terstruktur sering kali menimbun instruksi sterilisasi darurat yang krusial, memicu keterlambatan operasional dan technostress akibat tuntutan keterhubungan terus-menerus. Akibatnya, pesan instan saja secara struktural tidak memadai untuk pengarsipan formal. Untuk mempertahankan kecepatan operasional tanpa mengorbankan kesejahteraan pekerja, organisasi harus menerapkan SOP WhatsApp resmi, menegakkan etika komunikasi digital, dan memindahkan catatan kepatuhan ke platform pengarsipan terstruktur.
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