Burnout or not? Assessing the effect of digital employee resilience and its effects on work stress
Burnout or not? Assessing the effect of digital employee resilience and its effects on work stress

Summary/Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of the study was to theoretically and empirically assess digital employee resilience and shed light on its antecedents and effect on work stress.Aims(s) – The study aimed to develop a conceptual framework for digital employee resilience. Furthermore, antecedents of both digital employee resilience and work stress were empirically analyzed, including the relationship between digital employee resilience and work stress.Design/methodology/approach— A thorough literature research was carried out to create a conceptual framework and definition for digital employee resilience and to derive hypotheses. Next, an online survey was conducted with a sample of 454 individuals. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM), and a multigroup analysis was performed.Findings – The study found positive effects of positive affect, digital literacy, self-efficacy, and perceived organizational support (POS) on digital employee resilience. Moreover, a negative effect of digital employee resilience on work stress was found. Role conflict, role ambiguity, and work overload are positively related to work stress.Limitations of the study – Limitations include the nature of the sample since only cross-sectional data on individuals from Germany was obtained. Moreover, digital employee resilience was measured in a particular context, e.g., working from home. Thus, exploring digital employee resilience using different samples and other contexts offers promising avenues for future research.Practical implications – The study helps HRM practitioners nurture digital employee resilience and address causes of work stress in a targeted way.Originality/value – This study is among the first to investigate digital employee resilience theoretically and empirically. It enriches the discourse on digital resilience by integrating various existing definitions and conceptualizations into a newly developed framework for digital employee resilience.

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