How digital leadership and innovative climate interact to lessen AI-related job insecurity, AI use anxiety, technostress, and emotional exhaustion

Oct 16, 2026

Uploaded by Fans

Purpose grounded in conservation of resources theory examines how digital leadership affects AI-related job insecurity, AI use anxiety, technostress, and emotional exhaustion. Innovative climate is modeled as a work-condition moderator, with the leadership effect expected only under high perceived innovative climate. Design/methodology/approach uses questionnaire responses from 416 white-collar employees in a Thai seafood manufacturing corporation and tests structural relationships with partial least squares structural equation modeling.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Research focus: AI in the workplace and psychological challenges

Key outcomes: technostress and emotional exhaustion

Role of leadership and digital leadership

Research rationale and context

How digital leadership and innovative climate interact to lessen AI-related job insecurity, AI use anxiety, technostress, and emotional exhaustion Gorn Huvanandana Graduate School of Public Administration, National Institute of Development Administration, Bangkok, Thailand, and Peerayuth Charoensukmongkol International College, National Institute of Development Administration, Bangkok, Thailand Abstract Purpose – Grounded in conservation of resources theory, this study investigates how digital leadership influences AI-related job insecurity, AI use anxiety, technostress, and emotional exhaustion. Innovative climate is proposed asthe work condition that moderatesthe effect of digital leadership on AI-related job insecurity. Specifically, we propose that the effect occurs only when employees perceive a high innovative climate, but not when the climate is low. Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaire data were collected from 416 white-collar employees in a large Thai seafood manufacturing corporation. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was employed to test the structural models. Findings – Results show that digital leadership significantly reduces AI-related job insecurity and AI use anxiety, which in turn lowers technostress and emotional exhaustion. However, digital leadership only reduces AI-related job insecurity when employees work in a highly innovative climate, with no significant effect under a low climate. Moreover, a serial mediation analysis indicates that digital leadership alleviates emotional exhaustion through its effects on AI-related job insecurity, AI use anxiety, and technostress. Originality/value – This study provides one of the first empirical examinations of how digital leadership and innovative climate jointly buffer the psychological strain associated with AI. We also advance knowledge by clarifying the mechanism through which digital leadership alleviates technostress and emotional exhaustion through its effects on AI-related job insecurity and AI use anxiety. Keywords Digital leadership, Artificial intelligence, Emotional exhaustion, Job insecurity, Human capital, Technological change Paper type Research article 1. Introduction The increasing presence of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace brings not only opportunities for efficiency and innovation but also psychological challenges for employees (Liang et al., 2025) . While AI can enhance productivity, streamline decision-making, and reduce human error, its diffusion has simultaneously raised concerns about the future role of human workers. A central challenge is the perception that AI may eventually replace human labor in various tasks and occupations (Sharma et al., 2024) . Even in contexts where AI is deployed as a complement rather than a substitute, employees often perceive a threat to their job security and professional identity (Wadhwa et al., 2025) . Such concerns about being displaced by machines can generate uncertainty and diminish a sense of personal value within the organization. As a result, employees’psychological wellbeing is increasingly vulnerable in environments where AI integration is accelerating (Teng et al., 2023) . Funding: This research was financially supported by the Graduate School of Public Administration and the Research Bureau of the National Institute of Development Administration. International Journal of Workplace Health Management 189 Received 28 September 2025 Revised 3 December 2025 20 January 2026 Accepted 21 January 2026 International Journal of Workplace Health Management Vol. 19 No. 2, 2026 pp. 189-206 © Emerald Publishing Limited e-ISSN: 1753-836X p-ISSN: 1753-8351 DOI 10.1108/IJWHM-09-2025-0252 IJWHM Among the various possible consequences of these perceptions, technostress and emotional 19,2 exhaustion represent two particularly critical outcomes. Technostress refers to the stress individuals experience when they feel unable to adapt to

FAQs

How does digital leadership influence AI-related psychological outcomes?

Digital leadership significantly reduces AI-related job insecurity and AI use anxiety, which then lowers technostress and emotional exhaustion.

What is the moderating role of innovative climate?

Digital leadership reduces AI-related job insecurity only when employees perceive a highly innovative climate; no significant reduction occurs under low innovative climate.

What do the mediation results indicate about emotional exhaustion?

A serial mediation analysis shows that digital leadership alleviates emotional exhaustion through its effects on AI-related job insecurity, AI use anxiety, and technostress.

Oct 16, 2026

Uploaded by Fans