Ioannis Zervas
Digital transformation is changing not only the demand for new digital skills, but also the value of skills that employees already possess. This study examines how perceived disruptive technological change is associated with digital skills decay and digital skills obsolescence and how these processes relate to employability anxiety, reskilling intention and workforce sustainability. A quantitative survey was conducted among 932 employees and business professionals from European Union countries between October 2025 and March 2026. The data were analyzed using PLS-SEM in SmartPLS, with Bayesian regression in JASP used as a complementary robustness check. The results supported the proposed model. Perceived disruptive technological change was positively associated with digital skills decay, while digital skills decay was positively related to digital skills obsolescence. Both digital skills decay and obsolescence were positively associated with employability anxiety. Employability anxiety was negatively associated with workforce sustainability, but it was positively associated with reskilling intention, which in turn supported workforce sustainability. Sustainable HRM practices and organizational learning culture were also positively associated with workforce sustainability. The findings suggest that workforce sustainability depends not only on training provision, but also on the early detection of skill devaluation and the development of organizational conditions that help employees remain employable, adaptable and included.