Psychological Impacts of Digitalization on Workers: A Bibliometric Investigation

The rapid advancement of digital technologies has significantly transformed the business landscape, affecting both organizational operations and employee experiences. As companies worldwide strive to leverage digital technologies to remain competitive, they undergo multifaceted changes, including the creation of strategic infrastructure, supportive leadership, redesigning business processes, and enhancing technological capabilities. However, the psychological impact on employees is often overlooked. While offering benefits like increased productivity and flexibility, digitalization also introduces challenges such as blurred boundaries between work and private life, increased stress, reduced motivation, and increased anxiety regarding technological adoption and job security. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the psychological implications of digital transformation, presenting statistical patterns through bibliometric analysis to offer a holistic perspective. In the bibliometric analysis carried out on 765 articles in the Web of Science (WoS) database between 2014 and 2023, the most influential authors in the field, the most cited articles, the most influential journals, institutions, and countries, as well as collaboration networks were examined to determine the intellectual structure in the field. According to the analysis results, intense interest has been shown in research on the effects of digitalization on the psychology of employees, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is a pioneering study for researchers in examining the effects of digitalization on the psychology of employees and will help them gain ideas about what kind of research can be done in the future.