DOI - Mendel University Press

DOI identifiers

DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7701-082-5-0130

Review of Research on Work-Life Balance in the Digital Workplace Environment

Gregor Koprna ORCID...1, Zdeňka Konečná ORCID...1
1 Department of Management, Faculty of Business and Management, Brno University of Technology, Kolejní 2906/4, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic

Digitalisation has transformed how work is organised, managed, and experienced in recent years. These changes, reflected in emerging digital workplace environments, have blurred the boundaries between professional and private life, making work-life balance a critical aspect of sustainable employment. This study reviews and synthesises recent academic research on work-life balance in digital workplace environments to identify key research trends and gaps. A systematic literature review is used as a method to achieve the research objective. Fifty-six articles were identified as relevant using the PRISMA method and then grouped into four clusters based on the research streams – technology, telework and work-life balance, organisational and managerial factors, individual resources and coping mechanisms, and structural and contextual trends. The findings will contribute to both academic and practical debate by clarifying current research trends and highlighting opportunities to develop more sustainable, human-centred approaches to digital work.

Keywords: Digital Workplace, Work-Life Balance, Technostress, Remote Work, Management

pages: 130-137, online: 2026



References

  1. 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 Go to original source...
  2. BARLEY, S. R., MEYERSON, D. E., GRODAL, S. 2011. E-mail as a source and symbol of stress. Organization Science. 22(4), 887-906. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1100.0573 Go to original source...
  3. CIOFFI, G., BALDUCCI, C., TODERI, S. 2025. Digital stress-preventive management competencies: definition, identification and tool development for research and practice. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 22(2), 267. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22020267 Go to original source...
  4. DERKS, D., BAKKER, A. B. 2012. Smartphone use, work-home interference, and burnout: a diary study on the role of recovery. Applied Psychology. 63(3), 411-440. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2012.00530.x Go to original source...
  5. DERY, K., SEBASTIAN, I. M., VAN DER MEULEN, N. 2017. The digital workplace is key to digital innovation. MIS Quarterly Executive. 16(2), 135-152. https://research.ebsco.com/c/amo32b/search/details/lsolcq7p3j?db=bth
  6. DETTMERS, J. 2017. How extended work availability affects well-being: the mediating roles of psychological detachment and work-family conflict. Work & Stress. 31(1), 24-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2017.1298164 Go to original source...
  7. EUROFOUND. 2021. Right to disconnect: exploring company practices. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/publications/all/right-disconnect-exploring-company-practices
  8. LEROUGE, L., TRUJILLO PONS, F. 2022. Contribution to the study on the "right to disconnect" from work: Are France and Spain examples for other countries and EU law? European Labour Law Journal. 13(3), 450-465. https://doi.org/10.1177/20319525221105102 Go to original source...
  9. MARSH, E., VALLEJOS, E. P., SPENCE, A. 2024. Digital workplace technology intensity: qualitative insights on employee wellbeing impacts of digital workplace job demands. Frontiers in Organizational Psychology. 2, 1392997. https://doi.org/10.3389/forgp.2024.1392997 Go to original source...
  10. 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://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/112333/Yates_The%20Autonomy.pdf Go to original source...
  11. MCDOWALL, A., KINMAN, G. 2017. The new nowhere land? A research and practice agenda for the "always on" culture. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance. 4(3), 256-266. https://doi.org/10.1108/joepp-05-2017-0045 Go to original source...
  12. MESSENGER, J. 2019. Telework in the 21st century. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789903751 Go to original source...
  13. OECD. 2021. Teleworking in the COVID-19 pandemic: trends and prospects. Paris: OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/72a416b6-en Go to original source...
  14. SONNENTAG, S., FRITZ, C. 2007. The recovery experience questionnaire: development and validation of a measure for assessing recuperation and unwinding from work. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. 12(3), 204-221. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.12.3.204 Go to original source...
  15. SPAGNOLI, P., MOLINO, M., MOLINARO, D., GIANCASPRO, M. L., MANUTI, A., GHISLERI, C. 2020. Workaholism and technostress during the COVID-19 emergency: the crucial role of leaders on remote working. Frontiers in Psychology. 11, 620310. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.620310 Go to original source...
  16. TARAFDAR, M., COOPER, C. L., STICH, J. 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 Go to original source...
  17. TARAFDAR, M., TU, Q., RAGU-NATHAN, B. S., RAGU-NATHAN, T. S. 2007. The impact of technostress on role stress and productivity. Journal of Management Information Systems. 24(1), 301-328. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40398890 Go to original source...
  18. WAJCMAN, J., BITTMAN, M., BROWN, J. E. 2008. Families without borders: mobile phones, connectedness and work-home divisions. Sociology. 42(4), 635-652. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038508091620 Go to original source...
  19. WANG, B., LIU, Y., QIAN, J., PARKER, S. K. 2021. Achieving effective remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic: a work design perspective. Applied Psychology. 70(1), 16-59. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12290 Go to original source...
  20. WILLIAMS, S. P., SCHUBERT, P. 2018. Designs for the digital workplace. Procedia Computer Science. 138, 478-485. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2018.10.066 Go to original source...
  21. WRC. 2021. Code of practice for employers and employees on the right to disconnect. Dublin: Workplace Relations Commission. https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/what_you_should_know/codes_practice/code-of-practice-for-employers-and-employees-on-the-right-to-disconnect.pdf
Return