The job demands-resources model as a theoretical lens for the bright and dark side of digitization

Abstract

With digitization continuing to reshape work environments, organizations must confront the challenges of comprehending its “bright side” and “dark side” effects. A growing imperative exists to comprehend how digitization affects employee well-being and to create sustainable health-centric workplaces. The established Job Demands-Resources model offers a pertinent theoretical framework for gaining fresh insights into alterations in job demands and resources caused by digitization. This study extends the Job Demands-Resources model to include digital job demands and resources by utilizing a sample of 898 white-collar employees. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was employed to investigate digitization's interrelationships and dependencies within an organizational context. The results confirm that the Job Demands-Resources model offers a holistic approach to investigating the concrete effects of the “dark side" and “bright side" of digitization in a concrete work scenario and to classify them in a theoretically structured way. This study offers starting points for the future design of workplaces and strategies for organizations to harness the positive aspects of digitization while concurrently mitigating the psychological stress on employees.