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

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).