Fear of Digital Exclusion and Workplace Anxiety in Contemporary Organisations: A Conceptual Review and Research Agenda
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Abstract
The digitalisation of contemporary organisations has transformed how employees access information, interact with colleagues, demonstrate competence, and pursue career opportunities. While digital technologies have been described as tools for connectivity and inclusion, they can also create new anxieties for employees who feel digitally disconnected, insufficiently visible, or professionally disadvantaged. This paper proposes a conceptual framework to understand the phenomenon of fear of digital exclusion (FDE) and its connection to workplace anxiety. The paper is based on the affective events theory, conservation of resources theory, and the job demands–resources model, and conceptualises FDE as a multidimensional, technology-related job demand that includes informational, relational, and developmental exclusion fears. It suggests that FDE can be a source of workplace anxiety due to resource depletion and rumination, which can have implications for employee wellbeing, performance, creativity, inclusion and organisational commitment. The framework also outlines individual, technological, and organisational factors that influence FDE, such as digital self-efficacy, platform complexity, digital surveillance, communication norms, leadership practices, and digital psychological safety. The paper makes a contribution to the study of organisational behaviour and digital work by clarifying the concept of FDE from other concepts related to it, including technostress, workplace fear of missing out, technology anxiety, and digital overload. It also provides a research programme for the development of measurement, longitudinal testing, cross-cultural analysis, algorithmic management research, and evaluation of intervention. The paper argues that digital literacy training is not enough to address FDE; inclusive digital cultures, norms of communication, recognition systems, psychological safety, and access to digital resources must also be addressed.
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