Human-technology interaction at work: the moderating role of work modality in the relationship between colleague support and technostress

Introduction: The increasing digitalization of work and the diffusion of hybrid work arrangements are reshaping human–technology interaction, with relevant implications for job quality and occupational health. Within this context, technostress represents a salient psychosocial risk emerging from the interaction between technological demands and work design features. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources framework, this study focuses on colleague support as a key social resource that may shape employees' experiences of technostress in digitally mediated work.Materials and methods: Using a cross-sectional design, moderated regression analyses were conducted on a sample of 316 employees working in hybrid and on-site arrangements. Participants completed validated measures of technostress creators (techno-complexity, techno-invasion, and techno-overload) and perceived colleague support and reported their work modality. Results: Results indicate that perceived colleague support is consistently and negatively associated with overall technostress and all technostress creators, supporting its role as a key social resource for employee wellbeing. Furthermore, moderation analyses revealed that work modality shapes the relationship between colleague support and technostress. However, the protective association between colleague support and technostress and its dimensions was evident only among hybrid workers and not in fully on-site settings. These findings suggest that in hybrid contexts, where opportunities for interaction are more limited, colleague support is perceived as a more valuable resource. In contrast, in fully on-site environments, the constant availability of interpersonal exchange may lead to its normalization, thereby reducing its perceived value as a distinct coping resource. Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of conceptualizing human–technology interaction as a workplace issue embedded in social and organizational contexts. From an occupational safety and health perspective, the study underscores the role of colleague support as a protective resource that can buffer technostress in digitally mediated and flexible work settings. Investing in social infrastructures that foster collegial support appears crucial for promoting employee wellbeing and sustainable work in digitalized environments.