Job displacement by intelligent automation and nonlinear effects on older hospitality employees’ quality of life: the roles of challenge and hindrance technostress

Amidst global workforce aging, the hospitality sector’s integration of intelligent automation technologies is reshaping job structures and elevating job substitution risks. While such technological transformation drives innovation, older employees may be particularly vulnerable due to age-related shifts in work ability and heightened sensitivity to technostress. Using data from SHARE and an online survey, this study reveals a nonlinear negative relationship between intelligent automation job substitution and older hospitality employees’ quality of life. We further identify the dual-sided impact of challenge technostress and hindrance technostress underlying this relationship. This study is among the few to reveal older hospitality employees’ vulnerability to intelligent automation job substitution, highlighting the need for more tailored human resource practices to protect this aging workforce during technological transformation.