Loneliness in Digital Workplaces: Antecedents, Outcomes, and a Typology of Work Configurations

This study investigates loneliness in digital workplaces through a systematic literature review (SLR) followed by quantitative validation. The SLR identified four key antecedent themes: technology affordances, job design, personal characteristics, and behavior and context in digital workplaces, alongside two outcome themes: psychological and job-related. Based on these findings, a conceptual model grounded in Job Demands-Resources theory was developed and tested with survey data from 258 workers across diverse digital work arrangements. Results confirmed that technology affordances and the need for affiliation significantly reduce workplace loneliness, which in turn predicts emotional exhaustion and decreased techno-work engagement. Latent profile analysis using remote work intensity, technology-mediated interaction intensity, and digital mindset as indicators identified three distinct configurations: Hybrid (n = 99), Office-Based (n = 91), and Full-Remote workers (n = 68). Welch ANOVA revealed that while configurations differ in work-home integration, affiliation needs, and techno-work engagement, workplace loneliness does not differ across profiles. This configuration-invariance of loneliness indicates that technology affordances and the need for affiliation are universal antecedents that operate independently of work arrangement. This study contributes to business-IT alignment literature by demonstrating that humanistic technology investment, particularly supporting social connection and association, and attention to individual affiliation needs are equally relevant across all digital workplace configurations.