Explicating the mechanisms between overwork-related media exposure and workplace resilience: a study of tech employees in China

Enactment of resilience is essential to workplace well-being. Drawing on the communication theory of resilience (CTR), this study examined media exposure as a potential source of anticipatory resilience for new employees under the China’s tech industry’s overwork culture. Analyses of survey data (<i>n</i> = 300) revealed that media exposure to overwork culture enhanced occupational self-efficacy and communicative resilience enactment, positively influencing outcomes including career adaptability, mental health, and job satisfaction. In addition, social support and career identity boosted Chinese tech workers’ enactment of communicative resilience processes. This study extends CTR to organizational contexts, contributes to the continuous validation of the Communication Resilience Processes Scale (CRPS), and highlights the role of media as a source of cultural discourses that fosters anticipatory resilience and subsequent resilience enactment. Findings offer practical insights into communicative strategies to support new employees’ well-being and career development in the global context of work exploitation and resistance.