Abstract
Rapid digital transformation and the rise of AI, robotics, and automation reshape workplaces and increase productivity, yet they also create cognitive overload, emotional strain, and job insecurity that generate technostress. Existing research highlights these effects but gives limited attention to how leaders influence them. As organisations digitise, leaders must treat technostress as a strategic challenge rather than an HR concern. This study examines how leadership behaviours shape employees’ technostress in digitally intensive environments. It draws on leadership theory, technostress literature, and AI adoption research to develop a framework linking leadership style, communication, AI trust, psychological sustainability, and adaptive capacity. Using a mixed‑methods design, the study combines quantitative measures of stress, trust, and job outcomes with qualitative insights from leaders and employees navigating AI‑driven change, showing how boundary‑setting and trust‑building directly affect satisfaction, learning, performance, and well‑being.