Online Vigilance and Digital Well-Being: Exploring the Roles of Digital Anxiety and Availability Norms in Knowledge Work

Abstract

With the introduction of Digital in the workplace, workers face constant digital communication, which can impact on their psychology. This study examines the mediating contribution of digital anxiety and the moderating role of availability norms between the dimensions of online vigilance (ongoing cognitive monitoring of digital communication) and digital well-being. The study involved 345 knowledge workers among the sectors that have high digital communications such as corporate services, IT, banking, telecom, higher education and others. The data were gathered by using an internet-based survey and SmartPLS 4 was used to analyse it with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). These findings suggest that overall, online vigilance is significantly associated with greater digital anxiety, and with a decrease in digital well-being. Digital anxiety mediated between online vigilance and digital well-being, indicating that the psychological path connecting attentional engagement with technology had an impact on feelings of a lack of well-being. Furthermore, availability norms reinforced the link between online vigilance and digital anxiety, indicating the expectations expressed by the organizations to always be able to reach them to increase digital anxiety. The results deepen and enrich the theoretical framework around the Autonomy–Control Paradox of Technology and Technostress Theory by providing an interaction of individual and organizational factors on digital well-being. In practice, the study highlights the need for rules of availability in use, digital stress reduction and the regulation of online vigilance, to create better digital work environments.

References

Ayyagari, R., Grover, V., & Purvis, R. (2011). Technostress: Technological antecedents and implications. MIS Quarterly, 35(4), 831–858. https://doi.org/10.2307/41409963

Alavi, M., & Leidner, D. E. (2001). Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: Conceptual foundations and research issues. MIS Quarterly, 25(1), 107–136. https://doi.org/10.2307/3250961

Arslankara, V. B., Demir, A., Öztaş, Ö., & Usta, E. (2022). Digital well-being scale validity and reliability study. Journal of Teacher Education and Lifelong Learning, 4(2), 263–274. https://doi.org/10.51535/tell.1192809

Barber, L. K., & Santuzzi, A. M. (2015). Please respond ASAP: Workplace telepressure and employee recovery. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 20(2), 172–189. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038278

Day, A., Paquet, S., Scott, N., & Hambley, L. (2012). Perceived information and communication technology (ICT) demands on employee outcomes: The moderating effect of organizational ICT support. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 17(4), 473–491. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029837

Drucker, P. F. (1999). Knowledge-worker productivity: The biggest challenge. California Management Review, 41(2), 79–94. https://doi.org/10.2307/41165987

Derks, D., Van Duin, D., Tims, M., & Bakker, A. B. (2015). Smartphone use and work–home interference: The moderating role of social norms and employee work engagement. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 88(1), 155–177. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12083

Firk, S., Gehrke, Y., & Wolff, M. (2024). Digital anxiety in the finance function: Consequences and mitigating factors. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 36(1), 95–118. https://doi.org/10.2308/JMAR-2022-055

Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2019). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed.). Sage.

Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Gudergan, S. P. (2022). Advanced issues in partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed.). Sage.

Johannes, N., Meier, A., Reinecke, L., Ehlert, S., Setiawan, D. N., Walasek, N., Dienlin, T., Buijzen, M., & Veling, H. (2021). The relationship between online vigilance and affective well-being in everyday life: Combining smartphone logging with experience sampling. Media Psychology, 24(5), 581–605. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2020.1768122

Johannes, N., Veling, H., Dora, J., Meier, A., Reinecke, L., & Buijzen, M. (2018). Mind-wandering and mindfulness as mediators of the relationship between online vigilance and well-being. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 21(12), 761–767. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2018.0373

Mazmanian, M., Orlikowski, W. J., & Yates, J. (2013). The autonomy paradox: The implications of mobile email devices for knowledge professionals. Organization Science, 24(5), 1337–1357. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1120.0806

Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879

Ragu-Nathan, T. S., Tarafdar, M., Ragu-Nathan, B. S., & Tu, Q. (2008). The consequences of technostress for end users in organizations: Conceptual development and empirical validation. Information Systems Research, 19(4), 417–433. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.1070.0165

Raza, M., Arfeen, M. I., Ishaq, M. I., Gul, A., & Saleem, T. (2026). Cyber incivility, cyberslacking, and negative reciprocity: Moderation of digital well-being. The Service Industries Journal, Advance online publication, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2026.2705880

Raza, M., Gul, A., Saleem, T., Sohail, N., Naeem, M., & Umar, M. (2026). From competence to caution: How digital literacy and privacy concerns shape cyberslacking behavior. The Critical Review of Social Sciences Studies, 4(1), 3730–3749.

Raza, M., Arfeen, M. I., Shah, T. A., Affandi, S., & Sohail, N. (2025). My digital tug-of-war: Balancing norms, cyberslacking, tech-savviness, and digital well-being. Center for Management Science Research, 3(8), 388–406.

Raza, M., Raza, A., Ahmad, R., Ishaq, M. I., & Talpur, Q. U. A. (2026). Hankering for travel? Drivers of travel intentions and the role of opinion leadership. Tourism Recreation Research, Advance online publication, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2026.2711269

Reinecke, L., Klimmt, C., Meier, A., Reich, S., Hefner, D., Knop-Huelss, K., Rieger, D., & Vorderer, P. (2018). Permanently online and permanently connected: Development and validation of the Online Vigilance Scale. PLOS ONE, 13(10), Article e0205384. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205384

Sonnentag, S., & Fritz, C. (2015). Recovery from job stress: The stressor-detachment model as an integrative framework. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(S1), S72–S103. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1924

Tarafdar, M., Cooper, C. L., & Stich, J. F. (2019). The technostress trifecta—Techno eustress, techno distress and design: Theoretical directions and an agenda for research. Information Systems Journal, 29(1), 6–42. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12169

Vanden Abeele, M. M. P. (2021). Digital wellbeing as a dynamic construct. Communication Theory, 31(4), 932–955. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtaa024