Publication Date

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Committee Members

Debra Steele-Johnson, Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Nathan Bowling, Ph.D. (Committee Member); Ion Juvina, Ph.D. (Committee Member)

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Abstract

After COVID-19, organizations have had to shift the nature of the workplace leading to increased access to personal devices and internet with remote and hybrid work environments. Over the past several years, technological advancements have allowed for employees to partake in cyberloafing behaviors. Cyberloafing is a tool in which an employee uses the internet for personal reasons during the workday. There has been a divide in the literature regarding the auspicious versus detrimental effects of cyberloafing on employee outcomes. Primarily, researchers have focused on the harm of cyberloafing, the money it costs organizations, and proper ways to reduce this employee behavior (e.g., Kidwell, 2010; Liberman, 2011). However, more recent literature has examined the role of cyberloafing in beneficial employee outcomes as cyberloafing could be used as a tool for resource replenishment (e.g., Aghaz, 2016; Jandaghi, 2015). Thus, the purpose of my study was to investigate the conditions under which cyberloafing is beneficial or detrimental to employee outcomes (productivity, job engagement, and stress). I found that jobs with high complexity and experience and low sustained attentional demands moderate the relationships between cyberloafing productivity and engagement. My research shows the importance of cyberloafing, when used as a microbreak, serves as a tool for recovery. Cyberloafing mitigates the harmful effects of fatigue and boredom on productivity and engagement. Organizations should seek out strategies to manage cyberloafing, rather than strategies to eliminate it due to the beneficial effects it can have on employees with certain job types.

Page Count

211

Department or Program

Department of Psychology

Year Degree Awarded

2023

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