Digital Upskilling, Cognitive Load, and Techno Fatigue: The Mediating Role of Work Autonomy
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Rapid digitalization in public institutions has intensified technology-related exhaustion among employees, yet the joint roles of digital competence, cognitive demands, and job control in shaping this exhaustion remain underexplored. Grounded in the Job Demands-Resources theory, this study examines the effects of digital upskilling and cognitive load on techno fatigue, with work autonomy as a mediating variable. A cross-sectional explanatory quantitative design was applied to technical employees of the Digital Technology Work Unit of Bank Indonesia. From a population of 284 employees, 150 respondents were selected through purposive sampling and completed an online 40-item five-point Likert questionnaire. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling in SmartPLS 4 with 5,000 bootstrap subsamples. All seven hypotheses were supported. Digital upskilling reduced techno fatigue and increased work autonomy, whereas cognitive load increased techno fatigue and reduced work autonomy. Work autonomy lowered techno fatigue and served as a complementary partial mediator in both paths, transmitting most of the effect of digital upskilling. Cognitive load showed the largest total effect and the lowest performance, making it the first priority for intervention. These findings indicate that digital training reduces fatigue most effectively when accompanied by the clear delegation of work discretion.
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