Good stress or bad stress? A dual-pathway model of how AI-induced technostress shapes employee resilience

While AI is increasingly integrated into workplaces in the service industry, the mechanism by which AI-induced technostress shapes frontline employees’ adaptability remains unexplored. Drawing on the theory of stress and coping and conservation of resources theory, we examine the dual effects of AI-induced technostress – comprising technostress creators (AI-related job demands and pressures) and technostress inhibitors (organizational AI-related stress-relieving practices) – on employee resilience. We draw on evidence from three scenario-based experiments and a three-wave, multisource survey, yielding a total sample of 1,108 employees. The findings show that AI-induced technostress creators (AITC) undermine employee resilience (ER) by inhibiting job crafting (JC), whereas technostress inhibitors (AITI) enhance ER by facilitating it. We find that organizational support (OS) positively moderates the relationship between AITC and JC. However, contrary to our expectations, OS negatively moderates the link between AITI and JC. Furthermore, we unexpectedly found that family support (FS) weakens the effect of JC on ER. This study is among the first to examine both negative (technostress creators) and positive (technostress inhibitors) AI-induced stressors on ER via JC, while clarifying the boundary roles of OS and FS in shaping this adaptive process.