From Overwhelm to Quiet Quitting: Exploring the Impact of Technological Overload, Technological Work Burnout, and Poor Work-Life Balance

Quiet quitting, where employees do the bare minimum and avoid extra duties, is a growing workplace concern. This study investigates how technological workload fosters quiet quitting, with technological work burnout as a mediator and poor work-life balance amplifying this effect. Analyzing the Data collected from employees in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) service sector shows that technological workload does not directly lead to quiet quitting behaviors among employees. However, when employees experience technological work burnout, the relationship between workload and quiet quitting becomes significant, indicating that technological work burnout fully mediates this effect. This means that employees are engaged in quiet quitting when the stress and exhaustion from technological demands manifest as burnout. Furthermore, poor work-life balance further intensifies this relationship, implying that those with an imbalanced work-life are more exposed to the negative impacts of technological workload. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.