There was also significant cross-level interaction between time and formal SMC at T1 (b = −0.61, p = .047). Fig. 2 shows that technostress increased among those individuals who were nonusers of formal SMC before the COVID-19 crisis (T1), and there was a decrease in technostress among those users who had already used formal SMC at work many times a day. After considering the cross-level interactions, the main effect of formal SMC at T1 remained significant (b = 0.84, p = .017), meaning that formal SMC at T1 predicted higher technostress at that time. Informal SMC did not predict technostress. Of the covariates, victimization from cyberbullying at work (b = 2.20, p = .004), young age (b = −0.11, p < .001), and neuroticism (b = 0.32, p < .001) predicted technostress.
