Mapping The Human Experience in Digital Workspaces: A Scoping Review on Employee Engagement, Work-Life Balance and Stress in The IT Sector

Abstract

Purpose: This article explores the dynamic interplay of employee engagement, work-life balance, and workplace stress within the digitalized work environments of the IT and IT-enabled services (ITES) sector. It aims to map existing research trends, identify conceptual overlaps, and expose critical gaps in the literature that impact human resource practices. Design/methodology/approach: Guided by the PRISMA-ScR framework, this review examined peer-reviewed articles published between 2005 and 2024 across five electronic databases: Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, PsycINFO, and EBSCO. Inclusion criteria required studies to focus on IT/ITES professionals and cover at least one of the three core themes. After initial screening of 387 titles and abstracts, 56 studies were selected for full-text review and synthesis. Findings: A detailed examination revealed that while individual engagement themes, work-life balance, and stress are well-studied, their inter remain under-theorized—especially in high-pressure, digitally-driven industries. Most studies emphasized structural solutions (e.g., flexible policies), but few addressed the emotional or cognitive dimensions of employee experience. Demographic variances in how engagement and stress manifest—particularly across age, gender, and role hierarchy—emerged as a critical but understudied area. Research limitations/implications: This review is limited to English-language, peer-reviewed studies and may underrepresent grey literature or emerging non-traditional work contexts such as gig platforms or AI-mediated roles. Future reviews could benefit from mixed-method synthesis and cross-sector comparisons. Practical implications: Organizations must reframe engagement and well-being strategies as dynamic, human-centered, and contextaware. HR policies must go beyond compliance and recognition to include psychological safety, autonomy, and demographic inclusivity as levers of sustainable performance. Originality/value: This is the first scoping review to systematically examine how engagement, work-life balance, and stress interact within the IT/ITES domain through a people-first lens. It challenges conventional HRM practices and offers an integrated framework to inform both academic inquiry and organizational action.