Abstract
The education sector has faced tremendous changes in its system in the past
two years. Pedagogies and teaching approaches have undergone a significant shift. The
educational institutions provided necessary changes in their system to meet the
dynamic needs of going online. These changes were made to serve the students and
provide them with quality education. However, these sudden technological changes and
updating processes have impacted mental health, causing technostress. Thus, the study
aims to explore the factors affecting technostress levels among teachers and students
caused due to the sudden shift from classroom teaching to online teaching. The study
involved an exploratory research design and conducted in-depth interviews taken with
teachers and students working in private higher education institutions. The data
collected were transcribed and analyzed through word clouds, thematic analysis, and
document analysis. Through analysis, two broad categories were identified - teachers'
and students' concerns. The top concerns comprised – a lack of technical knowledge
and support, network concerns, job insecurity, and work-life imbalance. The study has
two significant implications-first, it will guide policymakers to formulate policies for
helping students and teachers deal with their mental health and fears. Second, the study
adds value to ongoing literature in the educational sector.