Employees' Psychological Well-Being in the Digital Age: Threats and Opportunities
Keywords:
Digital well-being, Remote work, Digital stress, Technostress, Organizational support, Psychological well-beingAbstract
The digital transformation of the 21st century has profoundly reshaped work life. The widespread adoption of remote work models and the integration of digital technologies into organizational processes have given rise to new threats to employees' psychological well-being. This review article comprehensively examines the primary psychological threats employees face in the digital age—including digital stress (technostress), cyber fatigue (Zoom fatigue), digital burnout, and social isolation—along with individual and organizational coping strategies. After reviewing the theoretical foundations of psychological well-being, the effects of remote work-related challenges—such as loneliness, blurred work-life boundaries, and psychosocial disconnection—on employee psychology are discussed. At the individual level, time management, digital mindfulness, and screen-break practices emerge as key strategies, while at the organizational level, empathic leadership, psychological safety, and digital well-being policies are emphasized. In conclusion, protecting psychological well-being in the digital age is a multi-actor process requiring coordinated efforts from individuals, organizations, technology developers, and policy makers.
References
Ahmad, A., & Ali, S. (2025). Policies for mental health and well-being in the digital workplace: A review of international frameworks. Journal of Workplace Psychology and Policy, 11(2), 85-104.
Al-Mansoori, R. S., Al-Thani, D., & Ali, R. (2023). Designing for digital wellbeing: From theory to practice—a scoping review. Emerging Technologies, 2023, 9924029. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/9924029
Alitabar, S. H. S., & Parsakia, K. (2025). Psychological resilience in the workplace of the future: A qualitative scenario analysis. Journal of Foresight and Public Health. https://www.journalfph.com/index.php/jfph/article/view/4
Boison, B., & Burke, A. (2025). Navigating emotional and professional challenges in remote teaching: Examining teacher well-being, burnout, and socio-emotional learning through the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. British Journal of Teacher Education and Pedagogy, 1(1). https://al-kindipublishers.org/index.php/bjtep/article/view/8997
Caratozzolo, P., Chans, G. M., & Dominguez, A. (2025). Continuing engineering education for a sustainable future. Frontiers in Education, 10, 1629507. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1629507
Christakis, D. A., & Hale, L. (2025). Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence. Springer. https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/96085
Desmond, T., & Kyriacou, T. (2024). From survival to thriving: Employee adaptation in hybrid and digital workplaces. Employee Relations, 46(1), 110-126.
Erdoğan, A. (2024). Digital burnout among employees: The hidden danger of the digital age. Recent Research in Economics and Administrative Sciences, 17, 15-32.
Farmanesh, P., Vehbi, A., & Solati Dehkordi, N. (2025). Uprooting technostress: Digital leadership empowering employee well-being in the era of Industry 4.0. Sustainability, 17(19), 8868. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/19/8868
Fauzi, H., Laelawati, K., & Pertiwi, D. (2025). Human resource management strategies to reduce burnout and improve well-being: A literature review with the Job Demands-Resources framework. Jurnal Economic Resource, 5(1). https://jurnal.feb-umi.id/index.php/JER/article/view/1521
Friganovic, A., Bošković, S., & Nurcek, S. K. (2025). Patient and medical staff safety and healthy work environment in the 21st century—Are we ready? Frontiers in Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1677117
Hayes, L. L., & Feldman, G. (2022). Digital resilience: A framework for adaptive coping in the era of remote work. Behavioral Sciences, 12(3), 245.
Juchnowicz, M., & Kinowska, H. (2021). Employee well-being and digital work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Information, 12(8), 293. https://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/12/8/293
Kamdar, N. (2024). The Art of Tech-Life Balance: Setting Healthy Boundaries with Your Devices. https://www.unplugtribe.com/the-art-of-tech-life-balance/
Li, X., Seah, R. Y. T., & Yuen, K. F. (2025). Mental wellbeing in digital workplaces: The role of digital resources, technostress, and burnout. Technology in Society, 75, 102429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102429
Lu, Y., & Barrett, M. (2025). Monitoring digital well-being: Design and policy tools for organizations. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 34(3), 223-240.
MacCormick, J. S., Dery, K., & Kolb, D. G. (2012). Engaged or just connected? Smartphones and employee engagement. Organizational Dynamics, 41(3), 194-201.
Mahajan, S., & Guleria, N. (2023). Tech-life balance is a new work-life balance of current digital society. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai, 97(2), 125-133.
Malik, M., Walker, K., Weeks, K., & Bafna, T. (2025). Burnout, wellbeing, and resilience of healthcare workers in the post-COVID world. Frontiers in Medicine, 12, 1679590. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2025.1679590
Martin, S. N. (2022). Social Connectedness within Teleworking Environments. [Doctoral Dissertation, Capella University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.
Nambisan, S., Wright, M., & Feldman, M. (2024). The digital transformation of work: Strategic foresight and workforce mental health. Harvard Business Review Future Series.
Paigude, S., Pangarkar, S. C., & Majajan, R. A. (2025). Occupational health in the digital age: Implications for remote work environments. European Journal of Occupational Health.
Palmucci, D. N., & Santoro, G. (2024). Managing employees' needs and well-being in the post-COVID-19 era. Management Decision, 62(3), 755-771. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-02-2024-0233
Petitta, L., & Ghezzi, V. (2023). Remote, disconnected, or detached? Examining the effects of psychological disconnectedness and cynicism on employee performance, wellbeing, and work. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(13), 6318. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20136318
Petitta, L., & Ghezzi, V. (2025). Remote work and psychological distance: Organizational belongingness as a resource against work stressors and employee performance impairment. Sustainability, 17(4), 1342. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17041342
Rayburn, G. (2024). Digital Detox: Reclaiming Your Life in a Hyperconnected World. Google Books.
Setia, S., Gilbert, F., Tichy, M. L., Redpath, J., & Shahzad, N. (2025). Digital detox strategies and mental health: A comprehensive scoping review of why, where, and how. Cureus, 17(10), e278251. https://www.cureus.com/articles/336341
Spagnoli, P., Molino, M., Molinaro, D., Giancaspro, M. L., Manuti, A., & Ghislieri, C. (2020). Workaholism and technostress during the COVID-19 emergency: The crucial role of the leaders on remote working. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 620310. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.620310
Subramanian, K., & Lin, Y. (2025). Digital resilience in emerging workplace models: Frameworks for sustainable employee well-being. Technology and Society Futures, 8(1), 42-59.
Supriyadi, T., Sulistiasih, S., & Rahmi, K. H. (2025). The impact of digital fatigue on employee productivity and well-being: A scoping literature review. Journal of Social Psychology.
Suvarna, A. (2025). AI-enabled predictive analytics for employee well-being: A cluster-based approach to proactive HR strategies in the digital era. ICTACT Journal on Management Studies. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5283516
Taser, D., Aydin, E., & Tuncer, B. (2023). Digital fatigue and cognitive load among teleworkers: A cross-cultural study. Human Technology, 19(1), 101-119.
Tawansi, K. (2025). The role of nonprofit leadership in digital transformation, service design and delivery. In Digital Transformation in the Disability and Mental Health Sector (pp. 191-210). Springer. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-96-3113-1_9
Van Zyl, L. E., & Rothmann, S. (2021). Positive coping and digital job crafting as predictors of psychological well-being. Current Psychology, 40(5), 2317-2332.
Wang, H., Ding, H., & Kong, X. (2023). Understanding technostress and employee well-being in digital work: The roles of work exhaustion and workplace knowledge diversity. International Journal of Manpower, 44(4), 1234-1251. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-08-2021-0480
Wang, W., Albert, L., & Sun, Q. (2020). Employee isolation and telecommuter organizational commitment. Employee Relations, 42(4), 887-902. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-06-2019-0246
Zhang, S., & Leung, C. H. (2023). Building resilience in digital work: The mediating role of mindfulness and boundary management. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 28(2), 145-162.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 SOSYAL GELİŞİM DERGİSİ

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
