Protecting work engagement from digital fatigue: the contingent roles of leadership style and network ties

Abstract

The growing digitalization of work has reshaped employee experiences, introducing new forms of strain such as digital fatigue—a state of cognitive and emotional exhaustion resulting from excessive digital demands. Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) framework, this study investigates how digital fatigue influences work engagement and how contextual resources—leadership style and network ties—moderate this relationship. Using survey data from 339 employees in Chinese technology firms, the results show that digital fatigue significantly reduces work engagement. Transformational leadership weakens this negative relationship, while transactional leadership strengthens it. In addition, internal network ties mitigate the adverse effect of digital fatigue, whereas external ties have no significant impact. This research deepens the understanding of digital fatigue in digitalized work environments, leadership, and organizational networks, offering insights for managers to adopt transformational leadership and strengthen internal social resources to sustain employee engagement under growing digital demands.