How leadership impacts digital stress

Digital transformation isn’t really about technology. 

It’s about how people feel when everything around them keeps changing. 

Many of us know that quiet exhaustion that comes from endless emails, constant notifications, non-stop calls, having to learn yet another tech tool (that keeps breaking!). Researchers call it technostress.

A recent study from Cambodia looked at how different leadership styles affect this kind of stress in employees. 

Transformational leaders, who inspire and guide their teams with empathy and vision, help people feel less overwhelmed by technology (so reduce technostress). For example, a manager who encourages experimentation and reassures staff that it’s okay to make mistakes with a new system helps people feel more confident and curious, not afraid of technology. They see digital tools as something that helps them grow, not something that drains them.

Transactional leaders, on the other hand, focus on performance, rules, and rewards. In digital transitions, that can make employees feel pressured to master new tools quickly, increasing stress and burnout. Imagine a supervisor who measures productivity by how many online reports are filed or uses other online monitoring tools that do not directly reflect employee's success, without checking whether the team actually understands the new platform or whether they are truly measuring the quality of work — stress grows, not trust. Unfortunately, we see more and more of such "leaders" using AI tools in the name of productivity - while the true name of it is "surveillance".

Finally, laissez-faire leaders, who step back and give little direction, also tend to increase technostress. Imagine a leader who sets up a new project management tool for their remote team — say, Asana or Trello — and then disappears. They send a short email: “Here’s the link to the new platform. Please start using it for all tasks from now on.” After that, they offer no training, no check-ins, and no feedback. When team members struggle to navigate the tool or aren’t sure what’s expected, the leader replies late or vaguely: “You’ll figure it out.”

As a result, people spend extra hours trying to make sense of the system. Confusion spreads, small mistakes multiply, and frustration grows. Employees feel unsupported, stressed, and sometimes even blamed for problems that could have been avoided with a bit of guidance.

In other words, when leaders are too rigid or too absent, stress rises fast. Without guidance or encouragement, even the most capable people start to doubt themselves. During digital change, strong and supportive leadership is not about control, but about creating safety, clarity, and meaning in how people engage with technology.

We can’t stop the pace of technology. But we can lead in a way that brings calm instead of chaos, confidence instead of fear. When leaders show empathy, curiosity, and trust, people don’t just cope with change — they grow through it.

When a leader keeps checking their phone during a meeting, it sends a clear signal — even if they don’t say a word. This behavior often reflects a laissez-faire or transactional approach: either disengagement, where the leader is physically present but mentally elsewhere, or a narrow focus on control and information rather than people. In both cases, the message to the team is the same — you’re not my priority right now. A transformational leader, in contrast, understands that attention is a form of respect. They put the phone away, listen fully, and make people feel seen. That simple act of presence builds trust, calm, and connection — exactly what’s needed in a world of constant digital distraction.

Curious to learn more? Check out the digital wellbeing leadership certification program by Consciously Digital Institute. Certified by two major coaching associations, ICF and NBHWC, this program is a golden standard in digital wellbeing education.