The Hidden Burnout of Digital Government Employees: Cognitive Load, Emotional Exhaustion, and Silent Withdrawal in Public Organizations

Digital transformation has become a central pillar of contemporary public sector reform, promising improved efficiency, transparency, and service quality. However, its human consequences remain insufficiently understood, particularly in relation to employee well-being. Unlike private organizations, public sector institutions are characterized by high job security, rigid employment structures, and limited employee turnover, which fundamentally alters how occupational stress manifests. This study introduces the concept of hidden burnout among digital government employees, defined as a gradual erosion of cognitive and emotional resources that does not immediately result in absenteeism or turnover but instead leads to silent withdrawal behaviors. Drawing on job demands–resources theory, this research examines how digital work intensity increases cognitive load, which in turn contributes to emotional exhaustion and latent disengagement among public sector employees. Using survey data collected from employees in digitally transformed public organizations, the proposed model is tested through structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that while digitalization improves task efficiency, it simultaneously intensifies cognitive demands, indirectly fostering burnout that remains largely invisible to formal performance and human resource monitoring systems. This study makes three key contributions. First, it conceptually distinguishes hidden burnout from traditional burnout constructs in public sector contexts. Second, it empirically demonstrates the mediating role of cognitive load in the relationship between digital intensity and emotional exhaustion. Third, it highlights silent withdrawal as a critical but overlooked behavioral outcome of digital transformation in government organizations. The findings offer practical implications for public human resource management by emphasizing the need for burnout-sensitive digital governance strategies that go beyond technological performance indicators and address employee well-being.

کلیدواژه ها:

Digital government ، Hidden burnout ، Cognitive load ، Emotional exhaustion ، public sector employees ، Digital transformation ، Silent withdrawal ، public human resource management