Purpose: This study examines how high-performance work systems (HPWS) and digital leadership shape employee outcomes in hybrid work. It uses psychological contract fulfilment as the explanatory mechanism and digital communication quality as the boundary condition. 

Design/methodology/approach: A three-wave, multi-source survey was conducted with 512 hybrid employees across five sectors in India. Measures were separated by four-week lags, supervisors rated innovative work behaviour, and the model was estimated using PLS-SEM with 5,000 bootstrap resamples. 

Findings: HPWS (β = .391, p < .001) and digital leadership (β = .318, p < .001) had a positive effect on psychological contract fulfilment and the structural model accounted for 52.9% of the variance in psychological contract fulfilment (R² = .529). Bootstrapped indirect effects showed significant partial mediation across all four outcomes, with 95 per cent bias-corrected confidence intervals excluding zero. Digital communication was a positive moderator between digital leadership and psychological contract fulfilment (β = .112, p = .002).

Originality/value: Drawing on AMO, leader-member exchange, psychological contract and social exchange perspectives, the study connects formal HR systems with digitally enacted leadership in hybrid work. It shows how psychological contract fulfilment links these organisational signals to employee outcomes and how communication quality helps make leadership intentions clear and credible.