Valta, MaximilianMaximilianValtaMaier, ChristianChristianMaier0000-0001-8328-2493Hildebrandt, YannickYannickHildebrandt0000-0002-5239-81162026-09-172026-09-1720261872-75300378-7206https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/117241Complex digital decision tasks can become obstructive when interface design requires users to interpret, retrieve, and compare dispersed information under ambiguity. Although technostress research recognizes information system (IS) design as a potential mitigation lever, it remains underspecified how concrete interface-level mechanisms shape users’ stress appraisals during interaction without removing objective task complexity. We theorize digital interface nudges, which are choice architecture based interface elements that structure options and guide attention without restricting choice, as a focused IS design lever that can reduce perceived cognitive effort during decision making and in turn lower perceived hindrance technostressors. We test this argument in an online experiment in which participants complete a complex car-booking task under either a default setting digital interface nudge, a salience-framing digital interface nudge, or a control interface. Both digital interface nudges reduce perceived hindrance technostressors relative to the control, and these reductions are stronger for individuals with a higher digital mindset. The study contributes to technostress research by showing how minimal choice architecture based interface interventions can shape how users appraise complexity in structured decision interfaces without removing objective complexity from the task itself. It also extends digital nudging research from behavioral choice outcomes to stress-related perceptual outcomes and identifies digital mindset as an initial user-level scope condition that shapes the effectiveness of interface structuring.engTechnostressDigital nudgingInterface designCognitive effortDigital mindsetChoice architectureOnline experimentUser experienceWell-beingDigital workDecision systemsarticle10.1016/j.im.2026.104421