This study aims to examine the relationship between meta-perceptions of deviant work behaviors and employees' levels of exhaustion, and whether this relationship is mediated by rumination and conditional upon levels of techno-stressors. Data was collected in a three-time-lagged panel design with 134 respondents. Results indicate that meta-perceptions of deviant work behaviors were associated with both types of rumination and feelings of exhaustion, and that the indirect path through affective rumination led to greater levels of exhaustion. This indirect effect was stronger in cases of high techno-invasion. Furthermore, the indirect effect of meta-perceptions on exhaustion through problem-solving rumination was also conditional upon levels of technostress. More specifically, problem-solving rumination was found to be associated with lower levels of exhaustion in cases of high techno-overload, whereas in cases of low technostress, no variation was found. Altogether, these results have important implications for practice and demonstrate the need to contextually assess the impact of meta-perceptions of deviant work behaviours. Whereas employees may be able to counteract meta-perception of deviant work behaviours by integrating specific practices into their working life, managers also play a great role by effectively managing the perceptions and meta-perceptions of supervised employees. We argue that these contextual effects are even more relevant as the working environments shift towards more flexible and global work arrangements with extensive use of technology to work.