Is cyberloafing more complex than we originally thought? Cyberloafing as a coping response to workplace aggression exposure

Abstract

Employees spend approximately two hours per day engaging in cyberloafing (i.e., using the internet at work for nonwork purposes) behaviors, costing organizations almost $85 billion dollars per year. As a result, cyberloafing is often considered a counterproductive type of withdrawal behavior. However, recent research suggests that cyberloafing may have some unexpected positive workplace outcomes. Therefore, we argue that the role of workplace cyberloafing is more complex than previously assumed and posit that cyberloafing may provide employees with a way to cope with workplace stress such as exposure to workplace aggression. To examine this proposition, we used a heterogeneous sample of 258 employees to test whether cyberloafing buffers the detrimental effects of workplace aggression exposure on two outcome variables: employees' turnover intentions and job satisfaction. Overall, results supported the notion that employees use cyberloafing as a workplace coping mechanism, which runs counter to the majority of research that conceptualizes cyberloafing as a counterproductive workplace behavior. These findings suggest that managers may consider allowing some degree of cyberloafing so that employees can better cope with work stress. Moreover, managers should directly target stressful workplace conditions (e.g., aggression) that serve as the impetus for cyberloafing behaviors.

Explaining Cyberloafing Behavior: The Role of General Strain Theory

“…The results showed that perceived organizational support had an important role in increasing cyberloafing behavior. These findings have explained the general strain theory (Andel et al, 2019;Koay, 2018;Koay & Soh, 2018;Koay et al, 2017;Sawitri, 2012) of violations of organizational regulations by employees. The government provides support in the form of internet facilities to support the smooth running of work.…”

“…This is because there are negative sensations that cause tension on employees, so that employee involvement in cyberloafing behavior becomes the main strategy to alleviate these tensions. This opinion is supported by several studies that state that in reducing work stress, employees do cyberloafing (Andel et al, 2019;Koay, 2018;Koay & Soh, 2018;Koay et al, 2017;Sawitri, 2012).…”

“…However, the lower the level of employee work stress, the higher the cyberloafing behavior. As explained in the general strain theory (Andel et al, 2019;Koay, 2018;Koay & Soh, 2018;Koay et al, 2017;Sawitri, 2012) that cyberloafing behavior is not a criminal act but violates organizational rules. Organizational support provided to employees is in the form of concern, time consideration, concern, not taking advantage, help in solving problems, forgiving mistakes, and caring about employee opinions.…”

“…The internet has changed a person's life in getting work done. However, an employee who is involved in cyberloafing for 2 hours per day uses the internet for information (Andel, Kessler, Pindek, Kleinman, & Spector, 2019). This causes the organization to become worried about employee cyberloafing behavior because they neglect their responsibilities for their work by surfing the internet for their personal interests (Khansa, Barkhi, Ray, & Davis, 2017).…”

Cyberloafing As A Trait Of A New Generation: Exploring Perception Of Teenagers

“…New forms of behavior are emerging related to the use of gadgets, which need scientific study and evaluation. These include fabbing (Krukova & Ekimchik, 2019) and cyberloafing (Andel, Kessler, Pindek, Kleinman, & Spector, 2019).…”