The Role of Techno-Stress and Psychological Detachment in the Relationship between Workload and Well-Being in a Sample of Italian Smart Workers: A Moderated Mediated Model

Marina Mondo (), Jessica Pileri, Barbara Barbieri, Diego Bellini and Silvia De Simone
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Marina Mondo: Department of Pedagogy Psychology and Philosophy, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy
Jessica Pileri: Department of Dynamic Clinical Psychology and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, Italy
Barbara Barbieri: Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
Diego Bellini: Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
Silvia De Simone: Department of Pedagogy Psychology and Philosophy, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy

Social Sciences, 2023, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: Well-being conditions at work are determined by the balance between the demands from the organizational context and the perception of people to possess resources concerning the ability to cope with such requests. The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has changed working conditions, and employees have had to adapt to smart working (SW) by bringing new resources into play to meet new demands. Many organizations are questioning how to implement SW after the pandemic. According to the JD-R model, the present study considered workload during smart working and Techno-stress (the perceived stress concerning the use of technologies) as new requests (i.e., demands) coming from the organization and Psychological Detachment (the ability to create psychological distancing from work) as a personal resource. We investigated the moderator role of Psychological Detachment in the relationship between workload in SW and Well-being, mediated by Techno-stress (in its three dimensions: Techno-Overload, Techno-Invasion, and Techno-Complexity). The sample is made up of 622 Italian public administration employees who completed a questionnaire containing the following scales: Quantitative Workload Inventory, Well-being Index, Psychological Detachment, Techno-stress Creator Scale. Mediation and moderate-mediation models have been tested with PROCESS Macro. Findings showed that Techno-Invasion and Techno-Complexity fully mediate the relationship between workload in SW and well-being. Psychological detachment moderates the effect of the workload on Well-being, which in turn is mediated by Techno-Invasion. Furthermore, findings suggest the importance of identifying protective factors that can mitigate the workload effects on the employees’ well-being in SW.

Keywords: workload; techno-stress; psychological detachment; well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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