Digital Control and Employee Thriving: Work Alienation and Inclusive Leadership in Contemporary Workplaces

Abstract

Digital technologies are reshaping not only the tasks employees perform, but also the way authority, relationships, and everyday work are experienced. This paper brings together two increasingly visible features of contemporary organizations - algorithmic control and workplace social isolation - to explain differences in employee thriving. Drawing on labor process theory, the sociology of alienation, conservation of resources logic, and the socially embedded model of thriving, it treats work alienation as the mechanism through which intensified digital control and weakened social connection can erode vitality and learning. Inclusive leadership is examined as a relational resource that may soften this effect. The model indicates that algorithmic control and workplace social isolation are associated with greater work alienation, while alienation is linked with lower thriving. The practical implication is straightforward: efficiency gains from digital systems are unlikely to be sustainable unless employees retain discretion, meaningful social ties, and access to inclusive leaders.