Human resource digital risk management and sustainable work-life balance in digital work environments: examining the sequential roles of mindful technology use and techno-boundary crafting

As economies modernize rapidly, digital transformation has changed the nature of work itself-often faster than employees can psychologically and socially adjust to it. This study looks at how Human Resource Digital Risk Management (HRDRM) supports Sustainable Work-Life Balance (SWLB) among Saudi knowledge workers, and specifically how this happens through a two-step behavioral process: first Mindful Technology Use (MTU), then Techno-Boundary Crafting (TBC).

We surveyed 665 knowledge workers across three sectors in Saudi Arabia-IT and technology services, banking and financial services, and higher education-using a quantitative cross-sectional design. The measurement and structural models were tested using Covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) in IBM AMOS, and the sequential mediation pathway was examined through bias-corrected bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples.

HRDRM was a significant predictor of both MTU (β = 0.382, p < 0.001) and SWLB directly (β = 0.338, p < 0.001). MTU, in turn, strongly predicted TBC (β = 0.547, p < 0.001), and TBC itself was positively linked to SWLB (β = 0.262, p < 0.001). Interestingly, HRDRM did not predict TBC directly (β = 0.036, p = 0.411)-its influence only emerged once MTU was factored in. This sequential indirect pathway, from HRDRM through MTU and TBC to SWLB, was statistically significant (β = 0.039, 95% CI [0.020, 0.069]), confirming the sequential mediation model.

Taken together, these findings suggest that HRDRM shapes sustainable work-life balance through two distinct routes: a direct organizational effect, and an indirect one that works through employees' own self-regulatory behaviors. The fact that Mindful Technology Use appears to be a necessary first step before employees can effectively craft techno-boundaries adds a meaningful piece to digital HRM theory. Set against the backdrop of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 digital transformation agenda, this study offers organizations practical insight into how they can better support employee well-being as workplaces become increasingly digitally intensive.