Human-Centered Leadership and Employee Well-Being: Evidence from the Digital Workplace

Abstract

Digital transformation has reshaped how leaders and employees interact, raising both opportunities for flexibility and risks of technostress and digital fatigue. This article synthesizes 25 recent studies (2019-2026) to examine how human-centered leadership relates to employee well-being in digital workplaces. Using a narrative literature review approach, evidence was drawn from journal articles and conference proceedings indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, selected through a structured identification, screening, and eligibility process. The synthesis shows that human-centered leadership consistently predicts higher employee well-being across sectors and countries, operating through three mediating pathways: psychological safety and digital trust, work engagement and digital self-efficacy, and technostress mitigation. These relationships are moderated by work arrangement (remote, hybrid, on-site), organizational digital readiness, and industry context. Grounded in the Job Demands-Resources model, Conservation of Resources theory, and Self-Determination Theory, this study proposes an integrated conceptual framework linking human-centered leadership to employee well-being in digitalized settings. The novelty of this article lies in its explicit integration of digital and human-centered leadership literatures, its cross-sectoral synthesis, and its attention to underexplored moderators. Findings offer theoretical propositions for future empirical testing and practical guidance for organizations seeking to humanize digital transformation while safeguarding employee well-being.