Digital Workload Management in Information-IntensiveOrganizations: Comparing Overload Sources inPredicting Fatigue and Engagement
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66438/skh.dssr.v2i3.76关键词:
digital overload, information overload, system feature overload, communication overload, work fatigue, work engagement, project management, digital project coordination, stressor-strainoutcome framework摘要
Digital work systems are central to project-oriented work because they help employees process information, coordinate tasks, and stay connected. Yet these systems can also create workloads that are difficult to manage. Drawing on the stressor–strain–outcome framework, this study compares three sources of digital overload: information overload, system feature overload, and communication overload. Three-wave matched survey data were collected from employees in Chinese organizations, yielding a final analytic sample of 366 employees after quality screening. Work fatigue was assessed using a multidimensional measure covering physical, mental, and emotional fatigue. The results showed that information overload and communication overload were positively associated with work fatigue, whereas system feature overload was not. Work fatigue was negatively associated with work engagement and mediated the relationships between information overload, communication overload, and work engagement. Relative importance analysis further indicated that information overload and communication overload were the main overload sources associated with fatigue. These findings suggest that digital workload management in project-oriented work should focus on specific overload sources rather than treating technology overload as a single problem.
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