Unplug to Recharge: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement in Digital Well-Being among ODDE Academicians

This study investigates the critical yet underexplored issue of academicians' digital well-being within Open, Distance, and Digital Education (ODDE) higher institutions.Anchored in the integrated Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), it examines how perceived usefulness, self-efficacy, and social support influence digital wellbeing, with work engagement as a mediator.Data were collected via an online survey distributed to academic staff using purposive sampling.From 497 questionnaires distributed, 377 clean responses were obtained and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4. Results revealed that work engagement is the strongest direct predictor of digital well-being.While perceived usefulness significantly increased work engagement, it had no direct effect on well-being.Both self-efficacy and social support exhibited significant direct effects on the outcome.Work engagement also mediated all indirect relationships effectively.The findings underscore that digital well-being is less about the perceived utility of technology itself and more about the psychological and organizational resources that foster engaged and resilient academicians.The study provides ODDE institutions with actionable insights, emphasizing the need to implement competency development, strengthen support systems, and prioritize engagement initiatives to sustainably enhance digital wellness.Future research should adopt longitudinal designs to