Digital fatigue in remote work: Experiences of Middle managers in tech firms

Remote and hybrid work arrangements have intensified the digital coordination demands placed on middle managers in globally distributed technology firms. While prior research has examined technostress and digital strain in remote work, less is known about how middle managers experience digital fatigue while occupying the dual role of being digitally monitored and responsible for coordinating others’ digital work. Using an interpretive qualitative design, in-depth interviews with fifteen managers in Kathmandu-based offshore organizations were analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis. The findings reveal five interconnected dynamics through which digital fatigue develops: perpetual digital connectivity, embodied cognitive and physical depletion, erosion of work–life boundaries, heightened visibility of digital performance, and strategically constrained coping practices. Digital fatigue emerged not as an individual inability to manage workload, but as a role-shaped experience influenced by platform-based monitoring, client-driven temporal pressures, and the dual positionality of being monitored while monitoring others. Interpreted through the Job Demands–Resources model and Technostress Theory, the findings suggest that digital fatigue is not only a technology-related strain but also a role-mediated managerial demand shaped by visibility, responsiveness, and accountability expectations. The results underscore the need for organizational-level interventions targeting communication rhythms, visibility expectations, and boundary protection.