Employee Cognitive Workaholism and Emotional Exhaustion

Employee Cognitive Workaholism and Emotional Exhaustion in a Digital Workplace: What Is the Role of Organisations?

Using quantitative methods, Prof. Dr. Jenny Hynes and Prof. Dr. Hasan Koç explore the organisational drivers of cognitive workaholism (constant thoughts about work when not at work) and emotional exhaustion amongst a group of employees (N=187) in a digital workplace based in Berlin, Germany.

This study demonstrated that managers could influence cognitive workaholism through the pace of work and an employee's perceived need to engage in off-hours work. Cognitive workaholism was also found to have a direct impact on emotional exhaustion, as did the relationship with one’s manager. Interestingly, off-hours work was not found to have a direct impact on emotional exhaustion. Instead, the data suggests that off-hours working hinders an employee’s ability to detach from their work, and therefore higher levels of cognitive workaholism are observed, which then leads to higher levels of emotional exhaustion.

This study highlights how management's distribution of workload can create a situation whereby employees have constant thoughts about work, leading to emotional exhaustion. This is an important topic, given the increasing use of digital technology in modern workplaces. Specifically, off-hours work is easily facilitated through the use of technology, and this study therefore unveils the double-edged sword of technology. Hence, this topic is important for modern organisations seeking to promote sustainable employee workplace wellbeing.

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