Effective Leadership, Teamwork Quality, and Their Association With Employees’ Perceived Digital Stress: A Multilevel Analysis

Abstract

Abstract: The ongoing digitalization of work environments poses increasing challenges for employees, including heightened levels of digital stress. This study enhances our understanding of how leadership and team processes relate to employees’ experiences of digital stress. Specifically, we examined associations between effective leadership (EL) and perceived digital stress as well as whether teamwork quality (TWQ) moderates this relationship. We collected the data from a German IT service company (N = 12,862, 1,207 teams). Multilevel analyses indicated that EL was linked to lower levels of digital stress at both the individual and team levels. This association was stronger in teams with high TWQ, particularly at the team level. Moreover, gender differences in perceived digital stress emerged. The findings provide initial evidence on contextual factors associated with digital stress and suggest directions for future research on leadership and team dynamics in increasingly digitalized work environments.