Navigating Technological Dualism: Impacts of Technology on the Occupational well-Being of Chinese Tour Guides

This study investigates Chinese tour guides' perceptions of how technology impacts their occupational well-being, addressing gaps in understanding the adaptation of core professional characteristics and well-being dimensions. Using Self-Determination Theory as a framework, qualitative interviews with 14 tour guides from diverse regions in China reveal a technological dualism. Technology empowers by enhancing efficiency and creating new revenue streams, yet it also imposes pressures through expectations, leading to adaptation challenges and impacting psychological needs. This dualism affects well-being by enhancing competence while constraining autonomy and subtly influencing relatedness. Theoretically, the study extends Self-Determination Theory (SDT) by demonstrating how technology impacts the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and introduces a holistic understanding of tour guides' occupational well-being, encompassing affective, motivational, and cognitive dimensions. Practically, the research underscores the need for strategies supporting tour guides' adaptation and sustainable well-being in the evolving tourism sector.