Digital Work Overload Management Practices and Employee Well-Being: A Time-Lagged Sequential Mediation and Moderation Model

Ahsan Ali Ashraf; Ahmad Adeel; Muhammad Umair Javaid; Sajid Mohy Ul Din; Nurudeen Babatunde BAMIRO

doi:10.71016/tp/ev1g7x85

Authors

Dr. Ahsan Ali Ashraf University of Lahore, Pakistan. Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4414-6648
Dr. Ahmad Adeel INTI International University, Nilai, Malaysia. Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1853-9982
Dr. Muhammad Umair Javaid Sohar University, Sohar 311, Oman. Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8732-5024
Dr. Sajid Mohy Ul Din Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia. Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2539-8572
Dr. Nurudeen Babatunde BAMIRO Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim, Perak, Malaysia. Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8298-8275

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71016/tp/ev1g7x85

Keywords:

Digital work overload management practices, Psychological wellbeing, Psychological detachment, Work–life balance, Managerial empathy, Digital mindfulness, SDG 3 and SDG 8, Safe working environment

Abstract

Aim of the Study: Drawing on Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) and Conservation of Resources (COR) theories, this study examines whether digital work overload management practices (DWOMP) enhance employee well-being through the sequential mediation of perceived workload management, psychological detachment, and work–life balance, and whether digital mindfulness and managerial empathy act as boundary conditions.

Methodology: A time-lagged two-wave survey design with a four-week interval was used. Full-time employees of digitally intensive organizations in Lahore, Pakistan, were selected through purposive sampling, yielding 385 matched responses. DWOMP was modelled as a reflective–reflective higher-order construct, and the hypotheses were tested with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4.0 using bootstrapping.

Findings: DWOMP positively predicted perceived workload management (β = .526), psychological detachment (β = .255), and work–life balance (β = .126). Perceived workload management, psychological detachment, and work–life balance sequentially mediated the effect of DWOMP on employee well-being (β = .039, p < .001), and the model explained 68.9% of the variance in well-being. Managerial empathy strengthened the relationship between psychological detachment and work–life balance (β = .069, p = .024) but did not moderate the balance–well-being link, while digital mindfulness did not moderate any of the examined paths.

Conclusion: DWOMP operate as organizational resources that initiate a resource-gain sequence from workload appraisal to recovery, balance, and well-being. Empathic supervision matters mainly at the transition from recovery to balance. Organizations should combine structural workload practices with supportive supervision, thereby advancing Sustainable Development Goals 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) and 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

Author Biographies

Dr. Ahsan Ali Ashraf, University of Lahore, Pakistan.

Associate Professor, Lahore Business School,
Dr. Ahmad Adeel, INTI International University, Nilai, Malaysia.

Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Communications,
Dr. Muhammad Umair Javaid, Sohar University, Sohar 311, Oman.

Associate Professor, Faculty of Business,
Dr. Sajid Mohy Ul Din, Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia.

Senior Lecturer, Department of Accounting and Finance,
Dr. Nurudeen Babatunde BAMIRO, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics,