Technostress and Psychological Safety in AI-Augmented Work Environments: The Moderating Role of Organizational Ethics in Chile's Public and Private Sectors

This study examined how technocultural interventions, psychological safety, and organizational ethics interact to mitigate technostress in AI-augmented work environments across Chile’s public and private sectors. Using a quantitative, cross-sectional design with 3,200 respondents from ENCLA microdata (2019–2023), Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) tested mediation and moderation within the Technocultural–Psychological Adaptation Framework (TPAF). Results confirmed that technocultural interventions significantly enhanced psychological safety (β = 0.34, p < .001) and reduced technostress (β = −0.15, p < .001), with stronger effects in the public sector (β = 0.44). Psychological safety mediated, while organizational ethics moderated, these relationships, thus tripling the indirect effect under high ethics conditions (β = −0.189). The study recommends institutionalizing technocultural practices, fostering open communication, embedding fairness and accountability in AI governance, and promoting cross-sector ethical oversight to ensure psychologically sustainable digital transformation.