Digital communication and occupational well-being in 25 European countries

Abstract This paper examines the association between digital communication at work and employee well-being, moderated by occupational status and the fulfillment of basic psychological needs. Two studies were conducted to investigate these relationships. Study 1 utilized data from the European Social Survey, encompassing 25 countries ( N = 24,331). Study 2 involved a longitudinal survey of Finnish workers ( N = 1817) collected at nine time points over 6-month intervals from 2019 to 2023. Multilevel regression models were employed to analyze the data. Study 1 found that digital communication positively correlates with job satisfaction in Europe, with a stronger effect observed among lower-position workers. Study 2 revealed that the use of digital platforms was associated with higher work engagement and women reported significantly higher work engagement than men. However, for higher-position office workers, particularly those in supervisory roles, increased use of organizational social media platforms and excessive social media use were linked to decreased work engagement. Several interaction effects indicated that the association between digital communication as well as digital tool use and work engagement and job satisfaction is contingent on basic psychological need satisfaction and occupational status. Organizations should tailor their digital communication strategies to account for employees’ occupational status and work autonomy. This paper addresses a gap in cross-national and longitudinal research on the impact of digital communication on workplace well-being. It provides insights into how digital communication tools differentially affect employees based on their occupational status and psychological needs.