“Boosting Morale” or “Inducing Anxiety”? The Dual-Path Impact of Digital Leadership on Employees' Work Passion

As a leadership style emerging in response to the demands of the digital era, digital leadership significantly influences employees' work passion. Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study examines Thriving at Work and Work Anxiety as mediating variables, and leader-member exchange (LMX) as a moderating variable, to explore how digital leadership impacts employees' work passion through resource gain and resource loss. Based on data from 318 questionnaires, the results reveal that: (1) Digital leadership positively affects both harmonious and obsessive work passion. (2) Thriving at Work mediates the relationship between digital leadership and harmonious work passion, while Work Anxiety mediates the relationship between digital leadership and obsessive work passion. (3) LMX positively moderates the relationship between digital leadership and Thriving at Work, and negatively moderates the relationship between digital leadership and Work Anxiety. (4) LMX strengthens the mediating effect of Thriving at Work on the relationship between digital leadership and harmonious work passion, and weakens the mediating effect of Work Anxiety on the relationship between digital leadership and obsessive work passion. These findings offer valuable insights for organizational leadership development in the digital age.