Digitally present, emotionally strained: digital behavioural camouflaging among women in Indian tech start-ups

This study investigates digital behaviour camouflaging (DBC)—the deliberate suppression or modulation of authentic behaviour in digital workspaces—as a coping response to organizational dynamics and its implications for emotional well-being. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources model, Conservation of Resources theory, and Impression Management theory, we examine how perceived monitoring, psychological safety, and role conflict influence camouflaging behaviours, and whether DBC mediates their relationship with emotional exhaustion. A quantitative survey was conducted with 344 women professionals employed in technology-based startups across India’s major metropolitan hubs. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Results indicate that heightened monitoring, reduced psychological safety, and conflicting role expectations significantly increase the likelihood of DBC. In turn, DBC was strongly and positively associated with emotional exhaustion, confirming its role as a mediating mechanism. The results point to camouflaging not only as a tool of impression management but also as a subtle form of emotional labour that steadily drains psychological resources. By identifying digital behaviour camouflaging (DBC) as a mediating mechanism between digital work conditions and burnout, this study suggests that startup leaders should rethink the use of surveillance technologies, provide greater clarity around roles, and build climates of psychological safety.