ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Organizational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1611876
Multitasking and Workplace Well-being: The Roles of Job Stress and Job Autonomy
Provisionally accepted
- National University of Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
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This cross-sectional study investigated how multitasking associates with workplace well-being, emphasizing the mediating role of job stress and the moderating role of job autonomy. Grounded in the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) and Conservation of Resources (COR) theories, this research proposed that multitasking negatively associates workplace well-being by increasing job stress, and that job autonomy buffers this relationship between multitasking and job stress. Data were collected from 354 employees in the information technology industry in China, with a response rate of 98.33%, ensuring sample adequacy. AMOS 26.0 and SPSS 29.0 were employed in this study to test the hypothesized relationships. Results indicated that job stress partially mediates the relationship between multitasking and workplace well-being (VAF=35.73%). Job autonomy moderates the relationship between multitasking and job stress, weakening the adverse relationship. These findings contribute to the literature by clarifying the dual roles of job stress and job autonomy. Practically, organizations are encouraged to reduce job stressors and enhance autonomy to support employee well-being. Future research should explore industry-specific differences and longitudinal dynamics to deepen understanding of multitasking’s impact over time.
Keywords: multitasking, Workplace well-being, Job stress, job autonomy, information technology industry in China
Received: 15 Apr 2025; Accepted: 25 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wei, Binti Abdul Ghani, Binti Mat and Binti Mat Isa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zheng Wei, National University of Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
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