Gladeana McMahon, of the Centre for Stress Management, says: "The average person isn't a high-tech genius. Only the young have been brought up with technology. It doesn't come naturally to most." Both agree, however, that technology can cause loneliness and stress. In an attempt to develop software to ease technology-related anxiety, Microsoft commissioned some research from Psychologics, who found that there were three generations of office workers.

Verbally abusing the PC is not the only response to IT stress; more than one in eight have seen their colleagues bully the IT department when things go wrong, while a quarter of under 25 year olds have seen peers kicking their computers. A similar number of respondents said that they had considered causing damage to their PC by deliberately pulling its plug out. Professor Robert Edelmann**, a leading psychologist on the causes of conflict at work who has endorsed this study commented, "This research shows that frustration with IT is clearly a serious issue. It proves that technology-related anxiety (TRA) is a by-product of our obsession with technology, and must be taken seriously as a modern malaise."